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SYSTEMATIC STUDY IN THE 
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 9f/ 



By 

LIDA BELLE EARHART, A. M. 



^ 



Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the 

degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty 

of Philosophy, Columbia University 



^ 



NEW YORK 

igo8 



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i li 



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PRESS OF 

Brandow Printing CoMPAN'y 
Albany. N Y. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

The Nature of Logical Study Page 

I. An important phase of a teacher's work.' 2. The necessity of 

knowing the logical and tlj[e_ psychological basis of the process of 

studying. 3. Meaning of study. 4. The kind of thinking employed 

in studying. 5. The origin of the incentive to thought — the problem. 

6. Thinking, memorizing, and habit-forming. 7. Relation of the 
problem to the person who is to study. 8. Need of definiteness of 
aim. 9. Recognition of the problem the first factor in logical study. 
10. Collecting of data a factor in logical study. 11. Organization of 
ideas a factor in logical study. 12. Results of the selection and organ- 
ization of data. 13. Scientific doubt a factor in logical study. 
14. The tentative nature of hypotheses and theories. 15. Verifica- 
tion, or the application of theory, a factor in study. 16. Memorizing 
a factor in logical study. 17. The preservation of self in and through 
studj^ng 5 

CHAPTER II 
The Nature of Logical Study — Continued 
I. The deductive form of logical study. 2. Necessity of under- 
standing the problem. 3. Judging the adequacy of a principle or 
theory. 4. Application of theory. 5. Self-expression and self- 
development through deductive study 23, 

CHAPTER III 
Relation of Logical Study to the Study of the Textbook 
I. Conciousness of the author's problem or purpose the first factor 
in textbook study. 2. Gathering data a factor in textbook study. 
3. Organization of ideas a factor in textbook study. 4. The necessity 
of deferred judgment in the study of books. 5. Consideration of the 
soundness of statements a factor in the study of a book. 6. Verifica- 
tion, or the application of theory a factor in the study of the textbook. 

7. Memorizing as a factor in .study. 8. Deductive study of books. 
9. Relation of proper textbook study to initiative and self -develop- 
ment 27 

CHAPTER IV 

The Ability of Children in the Elementary School to Study 
1. Problems involved. 2. Factors influencing the preparation of 
the experiments to determine the ability of pupils to study. 3. The 



4 Table of Contents 

Page 
nature of the tests employed. 4. Test A. 5. Factors of logical 
study shown in Test A. 6. The extent to which the pupils tested 
found the subject. 7. The ability of the pupils to find the subject. 

8. The tendency and ability of pupils to organize subject-matter. 

9. The extent to which pupils questioned or verified the author's 
statements. 10. The ability to supplement the text of the lesson. 
II. Nature of some of the questions asked. 12. Indefiniteness in 
questioning. 13. The ability to see problems relating to the lesson. 
14. Grouping related ideas. 15. What Test C required. 16. How 
the pupils proposed to solve the problems. 17. Sources of informa- 
tion named by pupils. 18. The formulation of hypotheses by 
pupils. 19. Summary 3^ 

CHAPTER V 

-Are Pupils Being Taught to Study Systematically in the Elemen- 
tary Schools 
I. The waste of effort shown by the tests. 2. Reasons why the 
factors of logical study are not employed more generally. 3. Lack 
of clearness as to the process of studying. 4. Summary of results 
of teachers' questionnaire. 5. A second means of investigating pres- 
ent procedure in teaching children to study. 6. Observations of 
classes in reading. 7. Nature of the lesson assignments in the 
classes in reading. 8. The recitations in reading. 9. Questioning in 
the reading recitations. 10. Supplementary material in the reading 
<;lasses. 11. The study of w^ords. 12. The exercise of initiative in 
reading classes. 13. Observations of classes in history. 14. The 
recitations in history. 15. Observations of classes in arithmetic. 
16. Observations of classes in geography. 17. Observations of 
recitations in language. 18. Summary of qtiestionnaire and observa- 
tions 52 

CHAPTER VI 

Can Pupils in the Elementary School be Taught to Study 
Systematically 

I. The attempt to train pupils in the use of the factors of logical 
study. 2. Compari-son of grades in regard to finding the subject. 
3. Verification of statements. 4. Supplementing the lesson. 5. The 
improvement of the classes not trained. 6. Comparison of the results 
of test C. 7. Comparison of the trained and untrained groups in test 
E. 8. Summary of comparisons of trained and untrained groups. 

9. An experiment in teaching pupils to study a reading lesson. 

10. Conclusions based upon tests and experiments 67 

Appendix 81 



CHAPTER I 

The Nature of Logical Study 

One important phase of a teacher's ivork. 

Not the lightest of the duties required of children in school is 
the preparation of lessons from day to day through a series of 
years. Since not only the product but also the process of study- 
ing is of value to pupils who are preparing for life in an environ- 
ment which furnishes frequent occasion for the use of both, it 
is an important part of the teacher's mission to see that the 
children know how to prepare their lessons intelligently and sys- 
tematically. 

The necessity of knoiving the logical and psychological basis of 
the process of studying. 

Should teachers desire to give their pupils training in correct 
habits of studying, they must possess a knowledge of the logi- 
cal and psychological basis of the studying process in order to 
be scientific in their procedure. It might be added that their 
interest and their enthusiasm in the cause also depend upon this 
knowledge, since a subject which is not well understood, or 
which is misunderstood, is not likely to arouse an attitude of 
enthusiasm toward itself, or intelligent zeal in its application. 

The question then is pertinent, what are the logical and also 
the psychological bases for the process of studying? 

Meaning of study. 

Before answering this question, a definition of the term study- 
ing is necessary in order that misunderstanding may be avoided. 
Studying in its highest sense is the process of assimilating knowl- 
edge, of reorganizing experience. As ordinarily employed, the 
term studying often means much less than this, and includes any 
mental activity directed towards the accomplishment of some 
end, whether that end be the memorizing of facts in a geography 
lesson, the learning of a story in reading, or the mastering of 
a list of words in spelling. In this common usage of the word 



6 The Nature of Logical Study. 

it includes the iiiiiid's activity that is directed towards tiie ac- 
quisition of ideas, whether these ideas become an organic part 
of knowledge or not. Learning dates in history, and committing 
poems and definitions to memory do not always involve the as- 
similation of knowledge, yet teachers call the effort to accomplish 
these tasks by the same name that is applied to the mental efforts 
of a philosopher who is engaged upon some weighty problem. 
The two kinds of studying are quite different. The one is more 
mechanical than the other and results largely in accretion of 
facts. The other is organic and results in rearrangement and 
assimilation of ideas : in short, it involves thinking. It is this 
latter form of mental activity, which is generally acknowledged 
to be of a higher type than the first, that is the object of in- 
vestigation and discussion in this paper. While any form of 
studying might be called psychological, because it involves the 
employment of mental processes, only that form of studying can 
be called logical which involves a thought-situation or problem, 
and thinking which is influenced by the nature of such a situa- 
tion. 

The kind of thinking employed in studying. 

The thinking which is employed in studying is reflective or 
purposive thinking as distinguished from spontaneous thinking. 
In the latter sort, the ideas are not controlled by the thinker. 
They come and go at random. But in reflective or purposive 
thinking, there is a definite end in view and the ideas are selected 
and controlled so as to accomplish this end. When a person 
gives the rein to fancy and lets his thoughts wander where they 
will, his thinking is of the spontaneous kind ; but when he sets 
himself to accomplish some task, to solve a problem, or to find 
the way out of some difficulty, he controls his thoughts and 
chooses or rejects the ideas which come into consciousness, taking 
as the basis of his choice the bearing which these ideas have upon 
the end he is trying to reach. 

The origi)i of the i)icenti2'e to thought — the problem. 

But back of the process of reflective thinking lies the deter- 
mination of the problem or purpose w^hich causes the thought and 
governs its course. In this determination of the problem lies 



The Nature of Logical Study. 7 

the logical basis of study, hence it is important to know whence 
this problem is derived and by whom it must be felt as a problem 
if it is to influence thought. If we search our own minds to 
find out what it is in our everyday life which sets us to thinking, 
we find that it is some break in the even course of our experi- 
ence which requires adjustment. Facts thrust themselves upon 
us in books, or apart from them, and we do not at once see their 
relation to our previous knowledge. Emergencies arise in which 
our habitual ways of doing things fail us and yet activity of 
some sort is desirable, or, it may be, imperative. We find our- 
selves lacking in the knowledge needed to direct our actions or 
to explain a situation which has presented itself ; or we find 
discrepancies existing among ideas, and feel it necessary to 
bring about some reconciliation. It may be that our faith in 
the validity of our own knowledge is shaken and we are at a 
loss to know what to believe. Needs of all sorts press upon us, 
from those which are most primitive to those which are the re- 
sult of education and experience. Some of these needs function 
at the present time and demand immediate attention. Others 
belong to the future, but require effort now in order that they 
may be met when they arise. These needs are a part of experi- 
ence both in school and in life aside from school, and whenever 
they are sufficiently imperative they give rise to thought or 
study. 

Again, tension in experience may arise because of lack of 
power to apply knowledge already possessed. This lack may be 
due to a need of insight into the relations existing between our 
knowledge and the concrete instance involving its use. This of 
itself is a thought-situation and an occasion for study. Or, the 
lack of power may be due to lack of skill ; it demands concen- 
tration of attention and repetition of some process, rather than 
the exercise of the higher mental activities in order to meet the 
situation, though thinking is involved in determining the cause 
of the difficulty, in selecting the means to overcome it, and in 
judging of the efficiency of the latter when they are employed. 
In both of these cases, therefore, real study is necessary. 

The aim of thought is to readjust experience so that tension 
or friction shall disappear and harmony prevail. Each specific 
situation presents its own peculiar incentive to thought and fur- 
nishes the occasion for its exercise. It is clear that the thinking 



8 TJic Nature of Logical Study. 

thus occasioned cannot be of the spontaneous kind but nuist be 
reflective, purposive in its nature. Its course, too, is not com- 
plete until the validity of its results has been tested in some 
way. Conclusions and theories must be tried by further experi- 
ence before their validity can be affirmed positively. When, 
however, their use has become habitual so that they have reached 
the mechanical sta^^e of application, i;hey present no further aim 
to thought, and the problem is regarded as solved ; i. e. the 
" studying " is completed. 

Thinking, memorizing, and habit-forming. 

In this connection, the relation between thinking and memoriz- 
ing, and thinking and habit-formation should be noted. In think- 
ing, ideas are associated according to their meaning, and when 
the process is ended, memorizing is at least partially accom- 
plished, and that, too, in its best form. Reviewing the associa- 
tions thus established completes the process. This is rational 
memorizing as distinguished from that which is purely mechani- 
cal. In habit-forming, thinking may be very prominent during 
the first stages. The form of activity to be learned, the way of 
responding to a certain situation must sometimes be chosen as 
the result of reflection, and progress in efficiency must be 
watched with care until the mind is freed from conscious over- 
sight of the process. 

Relation of the problem to the person zvho is to study. 

It is self-evident that in normal conditions the tension, the lack 
of harmony, or want of completeness must be within the experi- 
ence of the person or persons who are to do the thinking, since 
the thinking arises from personal motives. A thing is of interest 
and worth doing, and demands to be done because in some way 
it afifects our own welfare and the equilibrium of our ideas. Pro- 
fessor James, in discussing interest, says : " You will under- 
stand this abstract statement easily if I take the most frequent of 
concrete examples — the interest which things borrow from their 
connection with our own personal welfare. The most natively 
interesting object to a man is his own personal self and its for- 
tunes. We accordingly see that the moment a thing becomes 
connected with the fortunes of the self, it forthwith becomes an 
interesting thing. Lend the child his books, pencils, and other 



The Nature of Logical Study. 9 

apparatus : then give them to him, make them his own, and 
notice the new Hght with which they instantly shine in his eyes. 
He takes a new kind of care of them altogether. In natural 
life all the drudgery of a man's business or profession, intoler- 
able in itself, is shot through with engrossing significance be- 
cause he knows it to be associated with his personal fortunes."^ 
If the problem is to have interest, and is to be a motive power to 
the child, it must grow out of his own experience, some situa- 
tion in relation to himself, otherwise no genuine thinking will 
result. 

For a teacher in the elementary schools to assign a lesson 
without first preparing the class so that the pupils go to their 
work with a definite problem in view, and that problem one 
which touches them vitally, one which they have some interest 
in accomplishing, is to invite mechanical memorizing, and that, 
as has been said, is not study in the higher sense because it is 
not the assimilation of knowledge. When the teacher gives the 
problem to the class, which is usually the case when there is any 
aim present at all, the pupils may have a motive for thoughtful 
work and they may not. It depends upon the extent to which 
they recognize the problem as valid for them, as involving their 
own needs, as possessing personal interest, as presenting a situa- 
tion which they accept as theirs. Thoughtful study will depend 
upon their appropriation of the problem as given by the teacher. 
But if the teacher can so direct the experience of her pupils that 
this problem arises in their own consciousness of need, then it is 
felt to be theirs and the situation is most favorable for think- 
ing. 

Need of definiteness of aim. 

Another point of importance to note in regard to the problem 
is the fact that it should be as clearly defined as possible before 
its solution is undertaken. To be aware that there is a crisis or 
tension in experience is one thing ; to have analyzed the situation 
so as to see just where the difficulties lie is quite another ; and 
to determine possible modes of accomplishing the solution is still 
another. It is as if a person, who has seen a long pendulum 
set swinging in a north-and-south direction, discovers after sev- 
eral hours that the record shows a change in direction, and being 

'James. Talks to Teachers, pp. 94-95- 



lo The Nature of Logical Study. 

puzzled, should ask, not "Why does it swing?" because he saw- 
it set in motion ; but " Why, having been started to swing in one 
direction, does it now swing in another?" Probably several an- 
swers suggest themselves, some to be rejected at once as mani- 
festly contrary to fact and consequently impossible. Only those 
hypotheses are accepted tentatively for investigation which show 
some possibility of furnishing an adequate solution. 

It may be necessary to look into the nature of the problem 
itself before a solution is sought. Analysis is employed to dis- 
cover its meaning and its applications ; and reflection, reading, 
investigation may be required to make clear what is to be done, 
and the ways by which the solution is to be attempted. This 
process of defining the problem and formulating hypotheses for 
its solution may require a very short time, or it may occupy 
an extended period. Children's guesses as to what things are, 
or why things are so and not otherwise, are simply childish hy- 
potheses intended to meet natural situations. The trouble with 
their studying is that they frequently end their mental efforts 
merely with the formulation of their problems, rather than ac- 
cept such formulation as starting points on the way to positive 
knowledge. The clear understanding of the problem furnishes 
the criterion for the acceptance or rejection of material, and for 
its organization. The keener the individual's sense of need, and 
the more intense his desire to acquire a certain body of knowl- 
edge, the clearer his statement of the problem will probably be, 
and the more definite his demand for what he wants. 

Recognition of the problem the first factor in logical study. 

This recognition of a problem is a factor in proper study, that 
is, in study in the sense in which we are here considering it ; and 
since it precedes the other steps, it may be called the first factor 
in study. The problem must originate within the experience of 
the students, or be appropriated by them in order to arouse 
thought, and it must be defined clearly in order to furnish a 
definite guide to thought. 

Summary. 

The p>oints presented thus far are as follows : (i) Teachers 
should strive for results not only in knowledge of facts but also 



The Nature of Logical Study. ii 

in knowledge of the process of getting facts. (2) Studying, in 
its higher meaning, is mental activity directed towards the as- 
similation of ideas, the reorganization of experience. (3) Proper 
study involves purposive thinking, since it is thinking that is 
directed towards some end. (4) Back of the psychological steps 
involved in studying is the logical basis of the process. This is 
the tension in experience which constitutes the aim or purpose 
of thinking, and furnishes the criterion for the acceptance or re- 
jection of ideas in the attempt to readjust experience. (5) The 
recognition of a problem is the first factor in proper study. 

(6) This problem must be felt as such by those who are to 
study, or else the motive and guide for thought are lacking. 

(7) In order that the thinking may be accurate, the problem 
must be clearly defined in the mind of the person who is to do 
the thinking. Its requirements must be plainly perceived, and 
some hypothesis formed as a tentative explanation. This hypo- 
thesis determines the direction which the solution of the problem 
will take. It should conform to known facts. It should have 
some reasonable basis. 

Collecting of data a factor in logical study. 

When in the course of experience such a problem as has been 
described becomes a part of consciousness it controls the nature 
of the mental process which succeeds it. unless it is inhibited 
from so doing. One of the most prominent aspects of this proc- 
ess is the gathering of material bearing upon the problem in 
hand. This collecting of data is a most important factor in 
logical study ; for through its agency we are furnished the means 
whereby we may prove, amend, or reject the hypotheses formu- 
lated for the solution of the problem, and arrive at more definite 
theories. 

The material brought together for these purposes may be 
drawn from several sources. It may be a part of previous experi- 
ence that is recalled. It may be information gained from others 
by inquiry or through reading. It may be material derived 
through the processes of experimentation and observation. All 
the resources at our command may be drawn upon in the efifort 
to readjust experience so as to restore harmony. In general, it 
may be said that too great a reliance upon any one source is 
unwise. The person who knows nothing but books, and the per- 



12 The Nature of Logical Study. 

son who relies entirely upon his own observations are both de- 
priving themselves of material that is valuable ; so, also, is 
the person who is content with what he already knows as the 
basis for the solution of problems which arise in his life. There 
is a one-sidedness in such an attitude which defeats the very pur- 
pose of thought, i. e., the discovery of truth. 

It frequently happens that in this gathering of data, many ideas 
enter consciousness which are not relevanf to the problem and 
which, therefore, must be rejected; but having clearly defined 
the problem in the beginning, the sorting process is simplified. 
We cannot prevent the obtrusion of these irrelevant ideas and it 
is consequently all the more necessary to learn to discriminate 
between that which bears upon the problem and that which does 
not, and to accept or reject accordingly. For example, if a 
person begins to plan a trip to Europe, the details of other trips 
are recalled or read, or they may be suggested by friends. Many 
of these ideas will doubtless be valueless, because they have no 
bearing upon the problems of the proposed trip, while some may 
be very helpful. Unless the prospective traveler can sift out 
the latter and neglect the rest, he will probably do some foolish 
things, and omit to do some wise ones in making the prepara- 
tion for his journey. 

A consideration of very great importance in regard to data is 
that they must be gathered from such a number and variety of 
individual instances as to be sufficiently representative, and hence 
reliable. For example, data in regard to the physical measure- 
ments of Europeans would be very unreliable if obtained from 
the Anglo-Saxon nations alone, even though many individuals in 
those nations should be measured. And similarly, measurements 
to be representative of the English should include all classes of 
English and not merely a selected group. Likewise, to base all 
study of the phenomena of the adolescent period upon observa- 
tions limited to high school students would be manifestly un- 
scientific since high school students are a selected group. Only a 
small per cent, of pupils entering the first grade ever enter high 
school. .There is a weeding-out process all along the elementary 
school course, so that by the time the high school is reached, 
those who have survived are a chosen few. Studies based upon 
them alone would not be truly representative of all young people 
of the same age. It is thus important to remember in consider- 



The Nature of Logical Study. 13 

ing- the reliability of data that they must represent enough in- 
dividuals and classes to make conclusions based upon them valid. 
Summary : The collecting of data is a factor in logical study. 
Significant facts may be brought into consciousness by recall, by 
conversation with others, by reading, by experimenting, or by 
observation. It is unwise to depend upon any one source ex- 
clusively. These ideas, however gained, must be judged on the 
basis of their relevancy to the problem, and accepted or rejected 
accordingly. 

Organisation of ideas a factor in logical study. 

A very important element in logical study is the grouping of 
related ideas. It is a natural process for ideas to become as- 
sociated in groups, but in purposive thinking this process must 
be consciously aided. The ideas accepted because of their bear- 
ing upon the problem are examined to discover the nature of their 
relations to each other. Certain elements of similarity cause cer- 
tain ideas to form a group, as when concepts are formed. Other 
ideas are attracted to each other because of the similarity of the 
relationship which they bear to some other idea. The idea of 
the navigation laws and the idea of the tax on tea are very dis- 
similar in nature; but because they both bear a functional re- 
lationship to the idea of the Revolutionary War, they are fre- 
quently associated in people's minds. Then there is the causal 
relationship among ideas, when the value of one idea depends 
upon the value of some preceding idea or series of ideas. For 
example, the idea of weather-of-a-certain kind becomes asso- 
ciated with the idea of wind-blowing-from-a-certain-direction. 
Also, in studying parts of speech, the idea of pronoun becomes 
associated with the idea of noun because of their logical relation- 
ship. These relationships of similarity, of function, of cause and 
effect, and of place in a logical series, all of which are of import- 
ance in the solution of the problem on hand, should be sought 
out and established. The natural tendency to associate must be 
supplemented by conscious effort. Furthermore, as a matter of 
convenience and clearness in dealing with ideas, it is frequently 
helpful, especially with a long or difficult problem involving much 
material, to prepare a classification showing the main topics ar- 
ranged in order, with the subordinate points properly grouped 
under them. In most of the situations which present us with 



14 The Nature of Logical Study. 

some problem, no such formal classification is necessary, but un- 
doubtedly much incoherency and lack of logical treatment would 
be overcome by the more careful arrangement of material em- 
ployed in attempting to work out some hypothesis. 

Results of the selection and organization of data. 

As the result of the selection and organization of data, the 
hypothesis, which in the beginning was merely a more or less 
intelligent guess, is much more positive in its nature and has 
become a theory. Starting with an hypothesis based merely 
upon the facts immediately connected with the problem, there 
has been a wide search for data, a careful elimination of the 
irrelevant, and an organization of that which has been found to 
bear significantly upon the solution of the problem. During 
this process, the original hypothesis may have been altered, re- 
jected, or confirmed as a whole or only to a certain extent. With- 
out these two steps, collecting and organizing, the hypothesis 
would have remained a mere guess. Both hypothesis and theory 
must be looked upon as tentative conclusions and must be put 
to the final test of application before being accepted as prin- 
ciples. 

Scientific doubt a factor in logical study. 

In the paragraph on the selection of data, it was said that data 
relevant to the solution of the problem should be accepted. This 
statement must be modified somewhat. The data must be not 
only relevant but reliable. Whatever is accepted should be ac- 
curate. It fretjuently happens that material is presented in the 
working out of a situation which would apparently meet every 
difficulty, but it lacks the most necessary characteristic — that 
of accuracy. If the problem to be solved is of any importance to 
the person who engages in its solution, it is obviously of con- 
siderable importance to that person that he accept none but re- 
liable data. He must, then, scrutinize with care that which he 
accepts, and his attitude in general must be that of doubt. The 
greater the significance of the problem the more important doubt, 
scientific doubt, becomes as a factor in study, since freedom from 
error depends largely upon its existence and exercise. Because 
much of the information which is obtained from others, whether 
through their books or their spoken utterances, is based upon in- 



The Nature of Logical Study. 15 

correct ideas obtained from others, upon faulty experiments, im- 
perfect observations, or false reasoning, and because it is some- 
times wilful misrepresentation of facts to accomplish some ulter- 
ior motive, those who avail themselves of such sources without 
investigating the truth of the information imparted are fre- 
quently led into error. Ordinary gossip and unprincipled news- 
papers which are published for political purposes are extreme in- 
stances of unreliable sources of information. Bvit even books 
which are written thoughtfully and with every intention of be- 
ing accurate contain statements which are biased or untrue. The 
path of learning is strewn with discarded ideas, theories, hypo- 
theses, which fuller knowledge has shown to be false. The at- 
titude of scientific doubt which opposes blind acceptance of in- 
formation makes for advance in true knowledge. It should be 
cultivated so as to counteract the tendency of people in general, 
especially of young people and of others inexperienced in prov- 
ing hypotheses and in working out carefully the solution of 
problems, to accept without question the statements found in 
books, papers, and magazines, even though they may have learned 
to exercise some discrimination in regard to what they hear. 
There are reasons for this attitude of receptivity, but they are 
not sufiicient to warrant the continuance of unquestioning be- 
lief since that frequently leads to inaccurate solutions of prob- 
lems, and quite distorted views of facts. 

Our judgment as to the validity of data offered by any author 
is influenced, or should be influenced by his source of informa- 
tion. In scientific studies, direct observation and experimentation 
are valued as insuring accuracy. In historical subjects, the use of 
written evidence, or original sources is a basis for acceptance 
of statements. In either case, if the author has gained his in- 
formation through hearsay, there is greater doubt of his relia- 
bility as an authority than if he had employed research to obtain 
his ideas. It is an impossibility to test every statement made 
by the people to whom we go for information and we therefore 
must either reject all statements which we cannot verify or else 
we must place sufificient confidence in the men consulted to ac- 
cept their presentations. There is a place for the experts in 
various lines of knowledge ; and when men are known to have 
investigated thoroughly and in scientific spirit in their respective 
fields of research, there are good reasons whv their results should 



1 6 The Nature of Logical Study. 

be accepted as authoritative for the time bein.£i:, at least. There 
is no loss of self-respect to the student in so doin;^:, and as for 
verifying data, there is still sufficient opportunity for that since 
not all people are experts, and not all the problems are yet solved. 
The reliability of data can be tested in different ways. Close 
observation is sometimes all that is necessary ; or reflection, com- 
parison, and, in some cases, experimentation may at times be em- 
ployed. We may recall the results of our own experience and 
use them as a test for the new ; or we may compare one man's 
statements with those of another in whose methods of working 
we have confidence, for in weighing evidence it is not so much 
the men as their methods of working which are to be accepted 
as authoritative. But, after all is said and done, some doubt is 
still in place. 

The tentative nature of hypotheses and theories. 

It is very important in studying to recognize the fact that both 
hypotheses and theories are tentative in their nature although 
they may differ greatly in degree of probability. An hypothesis 
is a guess. It may be more or less scientific but it is still a 
guess. A theory, on the other hand, is an hypothesis which has 
been carried through the stages of investigation, and perhaps ex- 
perimentation, and which has been modified or confirmed by the 
process. It is based upon the study of data, and consequently 
possesses a greater degree of certainty. 

Theories may vary in probability. Where data are lacking, 
or where there is grave doubt as to their validity, the formation 
of judgment or theory may be quite suspended for the time 
being. When evidence is ample in amount and variety and is of 
such a nature as to warrant it, a very positive, definite theory- 
may be formed. Between these two extremes are theories of 
varying degrees of certainty. Such theories or judgments are 
more tentative in nature than those based upon evidence that is 
complete and positive, though all theories must be looked upon 
as tentative until verified by experience. When thus verified, 
they become principles, and serve as bases for decisions in future 
thinking. 

Whenever evidence is doubtful, and yet is accepted because of 
lack of opportunity for proving it, or for any other reason, the 
conclusions based upon such data should be regarded as hypo- 



The Nature of Logical Study. 17 

thetical rather than theoretical, until doubts of the vaUdity of the 
data can be removed. Sometimes the material used as the basis 
for judgment is accurate, but it is not sufficient because it does 
not meet every requirement of the problem. Conclusions based 
upon incomplete data should also be held to be lacking in posi- 
tiveness. While such judgments have value in that they furnish 
temporary explanations, their incompleteness should be recog- 
nized so that the mind of the student may be left open for further 
progress. Not to recognize them as partial, as tentative, is to 
become fixed and dogmatic and to close the door to investiga- 
tion and development. It is equally detrimental to character and 
learning to accept judgments based upon doubtful or inadequate 
evidence as final in their nature and to make no further efforts 
towards positive theories. 

Summary : As a precaution by which the way to accuracy of 
results should be hedged, scientific doubt, or the consideration 
of the accuracy and reliability of data, must be valued as a factor 
in study. The data selected in the process of studying because of 
some bearing upon the problem must be known to be reliable be- 
fore there can be assurance of validity in the conclusion. This 
is true of all data, regardless of the source from which or the 
method by which it is obtained. But even most reliable data are 
still properly subject to some doubt. Both hypotheses and theo- 
ries should be regarded as tentative in their nature, and as such, 
subject to further investigation and proof. 

Verification, or the application of theory, a factor in study. 

Since it was the need of readjustment of some phase of ex- 
perience which furnished the problem for thought, the verification 
of the theory formulated must consist in its application to the 
specific situation which gave rise to the thought-process, or to 
similar situations. The process of logical study is not completed 
until the theory has been expressed in some form so as to test 
its validity ; therefore expression, or the execution of theory must 
be regarded as an element in study. 

Application of theory is the only means by which we can be 
sure that the tension in experience has been removed and the 
problem solved. Conclusions which cannot stand this test must, 
of course, be revised or thrown aside, and those which meet the 
requirements in a satisfactory manner may be accepted. Further- 
2 



i8 The Nature of Logical Study. 

more, the application of theory, if repeated, tends towards faciUty 
in its use, and makes it more thoroughly a part of the person 
who thus employs it. 

As was stated in an earlier paragraph, the application of theory 
may be carried out very carefully, close attention being given both 
to process and results. If repeated frequently enough without 
too great a lapse of time between the applications, the process 
reaches the mechanical stage and becomes a habit which requires 
little or no conscious effort for its execution. The occurrence of 
a favorable opportunity for its use usually calls it into activity 
unless it is inhibited for some reason. 

The testing of theories may take the form of using the con- 
clusions as bases for further thinking; it may take the form of 
some act of construction, the execution of some design embody- 
ing the ideas worked out in the thinking process ; or it may mani- 
fest itself in oral or written expression, in some social activity, 
or in some other way. A person does certain things because of 
the conclusions reached ; or by an act of will he refrains from 
doing because his thinking has led him to decide that it is best 
to do so. Both definite choice and intelligent action are based 
upon the mental product, and these test the value of that prod- 
uct, and serve as a corrective for careless or inaccurate think- 
ing. 

In general, the more genuine the problem has been to the in- 
dividual who has been studying, the more vital will be the con- 
clusion reached, and the keener the desire to put the results into 
practice as soon as possible for the sake of verification. In life 
outside of school, the opportunity for application is sometimes 
delayed, but if the judgments are strong and clear, they will sur- 
vive delay and will even force an occasion for use. In school, 
conditions can frequently be so managed that pupils may apply 
the results of study immediately ; but even there delay is some- 
times inevitable. This possibility of postponement is a strong 
argument in favor of making circumstances as favorable as pos- 
sible for the formation of clear, vigorous judgments. 

Summary: In review of this topic, it may be said that appli- 
cation in some form constitutes the test of theory and is therefore 
a part of the study process. It is indispensable as a means of 
verifying, correcting, and fixing conclusions, and of giving facil- 
ity in their use. Application frequently follows the formulation 



The Nature of Logical Study. 19 

of theory immediately, though it must sometimes await an op- 
portunity. This possibiHty of delay increases the necessity of 
strength and clearness in judgments. 

Memorizing a factor in logical study. 

It is sometimes advisable to remember things in a certain 
wording or order, and for that reason memorizing forms an 
important element in study. Whatever conscious memorizing is 
done to give permanence to thought naturally follows the com- 
pletion, or at least the partial completion of the thinking process 
involved in the working out of a situation. The act itself of 
establishing relationships of meaning among ideas tends to make 
the ideas thus associated easy of recall, so that by the time a 
certain problem has been thought through carefully, the ideas 
involved are already partially memorized in their proper order. 
Thinking the steps over repeatedly, reviewing the relations al- 
ready established, completes the memorizing process. Thus mem- 
orizing is seen to be a very thoughtful procedure. Its misuse 
arises in the attempt to substitute it for thought instead of basing 
it upon thought, and in making it the sole, or at least the main 
factor in study. 

All memorizing takes place through the forming of associa- 
tions of some kind. These associations may be of a very me- 
chanical and arbitrary nature, as when we learn words in col- 
umns, or commit sentences to memory with no idea of their 
meaning. Mechanical or arbitrary memorizing has its place in 
school work, since words must be spelled, the principal parts of 
verbs learned, and other matter of similar nature so fixed that 
it may be recalled readily when needed. This memorizing in- 
volves concentration of attention, the perception of the correct 
order, and then repetition to fix the ideas in the perceived order. 

The memorizing which is a factor in the higher form of study- 
ing is based upon associations of meaning among the ideas in- 
volved in the study. Similar or contrasting ideas are associated, 
as are also groups of ideas relating to some one subject; also 
ideas bearing the relation of cause and effect, and ideas in a 
logical series. Thus, if a history lesson is to be memorized, it 
is better to memorize the important facts or topics which have 
been thought out and associated than it is to learn to recite the 
words glibly without having had any glimpse into the signifi- 



20 The Nature of Logical Study. 

cance of the ideas expressed. In learning a poem, the process 
is usually well advanced when the thought of the poem has been 
mastered. In geography the causal relations, and in mathema- 
tics the logical order may form the basis of the memorizing 
process. 

Summary: In general, it may be said that while mechanical 
memorizing has a certain place in school work, it should be 
limited to its own legitimate sphere. Thoughtful memorizing 
is of a higher type and should be employed much more exten- 
sively than it now is. It is accomplished by placing emphasis 
upon associations of meaning rather than upon associations of 
place. When employed consciously it follows the other steps in 
proper study. 

The preservation of self in and through studying. 

The studying which has been described in the preceding pages 
aflfords an opportunity for self-preservation and self-development 
which mechanical study can never yield. While preservation and 
development of the individuality are not a separate factor in 
study, they should be present in study and should be advanced 
to some extent at least, through its agency. 

Human beings vary greatly in native endowments. This vari- 
ation manifests itself in differences of interests, of capacities for 
working, and in ways of working. Any method of study which 
disregards individuals, disregards also these fundamental differ- 
ences. It subordinates the human being to the subject-matter, 
and aims for the acquisition of facts rather than for the assimila- 
tion of knowledge. In proper study, the individuality of the 
student has a chance to assert itself. One may respect his own 
ideas if he has tested them and has found that they satisfy the 
requirements. He need not yield ready acceptance to all that he 
hears or reads or thinks, but may reject what is false or irrele- 
vant. He need not lose his identity or his respect for himself 
even though he does accept the ideas of others, provided the 
acceptance follows judgment of value. He need be no one's tool 
or blind follower, but may learn to esteem ideas because of their 
worth rather than because of their source. He needs to learn 
the distinction between beliefs and convictions, but having the 
latter, he may have courage in the face of any amount of opposi- 
tion. To be alone in one's views is not necessarilv to be in error. 



The Nature of LogicaL Study. 21 

while to fall in with popular views is to place one's self very fre- 
quently in the wrong. Even though a number of people should 
start to solve the same problem and should employ in general 
the factors of study here presented, their procedure would vary 
from stage to stage because of differences which would manifest 
themselves at every step. 

A very important element in the development and preserva- 
tion of self is the exercise of initiative ; the higher form of study 
affords excellent opportunities for the manifestation of this ac- 
tivity. The recognition of a problem, the selection and discrim- 
ination of data, the organization of ideas, the deferring of judg- 
ment, the formulation of theory or hypothesis, the considera- 
tion of the truth or falsity of statements, and the final testing of 
theory involve its use. The highest ideals formulated by edu- 
cational theory include the right training of whatever initiative 
man has been endowed with ; hence so excellent an opportunity 
for its proper use as is furnished by logical study should not be 
neglected. 

Summary : In studying, it is an important consideration to 
preserve and develop one's personality, to exercise initiative, and 
not to subordinate one's own ideas to those of others without 
due consideration; otherwise one becomes a mental nonentity, 
a " passive recipient," and the whole process of study loses its 
value as a means of training and as a means of arriving at 
truth. 

General summary : The points made thus far are, in brief, as 
follows: (i) The first factor in logical study is the recognition 
of a problem. The problem must be clearly understood and its 
implications recognized. To arrive at a clear understanding it 
may be necessary to reflect, consult others, read, or experiment 
and observe. Some hypothesis or hypotheses may be formulated 
as possible solutions of the problem. (II) A second factor in 
study is the gathering of data bearing upon the problem. This 
material may be gathered from many sources, but only that 
which bears a relation to the problem should be accepted. (Ill) 
The organization of material into groups of related ideas is a 
third factor of study. It tends to take place naturally, but should 
be carried on consciously with close attention given to the re- 
lationships established. As the result of (II) and (III) we are 
able to formulate a theory which is intended to satisfy the 



22 The Nature of Logical Study. 

problem. (I\) A fourth factor in study is the exercise of 
scientific doubt, or judging as to the sounchiess of statements. 
Whenever significant facts bearing upon the problem are pre- 
sented to consciousness, their validity should be determined in 
order that the theory based upon such evidence may have value. 
All hypotheses and theories must be considered as tentative judg- 
ments until verified by experience. The value of such judg- 
ments is that application or further investigation is encouraged, 
and the tendency to form positive judgments upon a slight or 
faulty basis is discouraged. (V) In order to verify the con- 
clusions reached in the process of logical thinking, a fifth factor 
in study is needed. This is application, or the execution of 
theory. Through the use of this factor of study, theories are 
rejected, corrected, or accepted according as they meet the con- 
ditions of the original problem which gave rise to the thought- 
situation, or of similar problems. Through use, also, the theory 
is fixed as an element of knowledge and the expression becomes 
habitual. (VI) To fix knowledge in a certain form memorizing 
is necessary, and this process, accordingly, makes a sixth factor 
in study. Thoughtful memorizing is accomplished in part dur- 
ing the course of the thinking process. It is completed by con- 
sciously attending to the relationships to be fixed in mind and 
by reviewing them in their logical order. (VII) Throughout 
the process of logical study, there is opportunity for the preser- 
vation and development of the individuality of the student. This 
is as it should be since training in process is fully as much 
needed in life as the accumulation of facts, though the facts 
are not to be despised. Logical study calls for individual effort 
and individual judgment and affords opportunity for the exer- 
cise of initiative. Training in its use is training in the use of 
native power and ability to the best advantage. Like results need 
not be expected, therefore, in all cases, since minds differ in 
native endowment, in the nature of the store of knowledge al- 
ready acquired, in the ways of judging data and in the modes 
of making application. 

Note. — For a fuller discussion of the ideas in regard to the 
thought-situation presented in this chapter see Studies in Logi- 
cal Theory, by Professor John Dewey. 



CHAPTER II 
The Nature of Logical Study — Continued 

The deductive form of logical study. 

The logical study thus far described has begun with some 
problem and has advanced toward the formulation of the theory 
which provides the solution for it. The process is inductive in 
nature, and being so, is applicable in the large number of oc- 
casions in life in which the formulation of some theory is neces- 
sary to explain facts. However, problems are not always of 
this nature ; they sometimes require the employment of theories 
or principles which have already been formulated. The facts 
are before us and call, not for the formulation of a new theory, 
but for the use of one which is known. Examples of this form 
of thinking are seen in recognition, interpretation, and in any 
use of formulated knowledge. Effort in such cases is directed 
towards identifying the fact present in consciousness with some 
group of facts for which a satisfactory theory already exists. 
Through this identification, we read into the fact the significance 
or meaning of the principle which is applied to it. The mathe- 
matician who sees that the facts given in his problem involve a 
certain principle or rule ; the scientist who identifies some plant 
or animal as belonging to some group he already knows ; and the 
pupil who recognizes some part of speech as a noun, and who 
consequently attributes to it the properties of nouns, — all these 
are employing principles, theories, or classifications already for- 
mulated. The process is one of application rather than of dis- 
covery of theory. It is deductive in its nature. It is very fre- 
quently employed in giving explanations of facts or situations, 
though the full form of deductive reasoning is often cut short 
by assuming part of the steps. For example, in determining the 
climate of a given place, certain facts about location, physio- 
graphy, winds, and altitude are cited, the assumption being that 
all places having these features have a certain kind of climate ; 
and that the given place, having these conditions, must therefore 
have the same kind of climate as all the other places similarly 
conditioned. 



24 The Nature of Logical Study. 

Necessity of understanding the problem. 

In this deductive process of studying there is the same need 
of recognition and analysis of the problem as in the inductive 
study. Without a clear understanding of the situation, there is 
no adequate criterion for the selection of the theory or prin- 
ciple which is to furnish the solution, since its relevancy is not 
apparent until the problem has been made plain. 

Judging the adequacy of a principle or theory. 

In the purely deductive process of studying, the factor — judg- 
ing the soundness of statements — may not play so important a 
part as in the inductive study. It depends upon the extent to 
which data are employed. In deductive study it is the theory 
which must undergo criticism, and we must judge of its ap- 
plicability, its adequacy, to the solution of the problem. A 
theory or principle may be relevant but not adequate, and it be- 
comes necessary to discriminate between that which is sufficient 
to furnish the desired solution, and that which is not. 

Sometimes, however, a final judgment as to the theory or 
principle must be deferred, either because the problem itself has 
not been completely analyzed, or because no adequate theory 
has been formulated, or because we are not able to find the right 
theory. We must then either accept a judgment or classifica- 
tion tentatively, or we must try to remove the difficulty which 
has prevented the definite acceptance of a solution as adequate 
and final. This may be done by further study of the conditions 
of the problem itself, by an inductive study of the theory, or by 
a further search for a theory which has already been formulated. 

Application of theory. 

The test by which the adequacy of a theory is determined is 
its application to the situation which caused the search for a 
theory. As long as theories are never applied to problems, it 
matters little which ones are selected ; but little progress is made 
by this plan. The more genuine and vital the problem, the 
greater the need of the application of whatever theory is selected 
after careful examination. Thus the chemist or physician who 
attempts to produce a serum for tetanus or rabies, proceeds upon 
certain principles believed to have been established through the 
discovery of other serums. Having obtained the serums accord- 



The Nature of Logical Study. 25 

ing to principle, he usually applies them first to some animals to 
test their efficacy. The bridgebuilder or the boatbuilder who 
seeks to meet a new or peculiar situation, not only searches for 
his theory or principle, but frequently tests it in the manufacture 
of a model before using it in the actual situation. The final test, 
however, is its use in the connection for which it was intended. 

The collection and organization of data, factors of study em- 
ployed when the process was inductive, are present in deductive 
study also. They appear in the analysis and delimitation of the 
problem itself, and in the selection and study of other examples 
manifesting the same peculiarities as the one which gave rise to 
the problem. The search for data and their careful study leads 
to the discovery of the principle whose application they illustrate. 
The expression " discovery of principle " as here employed, does 
not mean formulation of theory, but rather the finding of a 
theory which has already been formulated and which furnishes 
the explanation of the problem. 

Logical memorizing is also present in deductive study, though 
it may not always be as prominent or as necessary as in the 
inductive process. The results of previous memorizing are em- 
ployed and thus the thoroughness of the process is tested. In 
the new work, the relation of the data giving rise to the problem 
to the theory which solves the problem, may call for memorizing 
to fix the relation for future use. In such cases it should not 
be neglected. 

Self-expression and self-development through deductive study. 
Whenever there is a genuine problem present which is felt as 
such by the student, and whenever the factors of logical study 
are employed freely by him, there is opportunity for the expres- 
sion and development of self. It requires initiative in deductive 
study as well as in inductive, to discover the problem, see its im- 
plications and conditions, and find and test the solution. Where, 
however, the process is purely formal, and is carried on under 
the direction and dictation of another, the higher thinking powers 
of the student remain inactive, and consequently undeveloped. 
Such formal use of theory is seen in the application of rules, 
principles, or definitions in mathematics, grammar, or physics 
when the pupils have little idea of the meaning of the problems 
and possibly none at all of the rules, definitions and principles. 



26 The Nature of Logical Study. 

In conclusion, we may say that the factors present in inductive 
study are present in deductive study also, though they may be 
modified to suit the changed purpose of the study, which is to 
apply principles rather than to formulate theory. 



CHAPTER III 
Relation of Logical Study to the Study of the Textbook 

In the preceding chapters, the steps or factors in logical study, 
both inductive and deductive, have been described and illustrated. 
The discussion has been general in its nature, as it was thought 
best to see the broad significance of study before confining the 
attention to the form it takes under certain limitations. 

Schoolroom conditions and traditional procedure are the limita- 
tions which hedge in the pupils in the years devoted to so-called 
study. In the ordinary schoolroom we find a group of pupils of 
nearly the same age, pursuing the same subjects from the same 
books, and with freedom of physical activity at least greatly re- 
stricted. The question is pertinent here as to whether the factors 
present in purely logical study are possible in the study of the 
textbook. Some reflection upon the nature of textbook work 
shows that to a large extent these factors may be employed, 
though in a modified form. 

Consciousness of the authors problem or purpose the first factor 
in textbook study. 
First of all in systematic textbook study, as in other study, 
there is the necessity of some problem. In ordinary experience 
aside from books, the problem is found in some life situation, 
but in the book the author provides it and the student must find 
and appropriate it. An author may have written a chapter of 
psychology to show the nature, kinds, and uses of interest ; of 
geography to show how the mountains of Europe affect the 
climate and drainage of that continent ; or of history to show how 
New England came to be settled by the Puritans. The problem 
was present in the author's mind and was worked out by him 
in some section of his book. The student must re-discover it, 
and appropriate it for his own in order that he may benefit by 
his study. His question to himself must be, " What was the 
author's purpose in writing this ?" or " What is the main thought 
of this section ?" or " What underlying idea runs all through 
this chapter, connecting the various parts ?" Through some such 



28 The Nature of Logical Study. 

self-questioning and self-directing of thought, the author's pur- 
pose or problem is revealed, whether in geography, history, 
grammar, arithmetic or some other subject. 

Gathering data a factor in textbook study. 

When the author's aim has been grasped, the gathering of 
data is necessary in textbook study, just as it is in any situation 
where there is a problem to solve. In the use of the book, how- 
ever, the author supplies much of the material that is to be 
used, and the student must look upon it as data presented with 
the idea of solving the author's problem. The student is not 
limited to the author's text, however, but may draw upon his 
own experience and upon his imagination. He may read books, 
papers, magazines, and may talk with people who are informed 
in regard to the subject he is studying. He may perform ex- 
periments and make observations. In any or all of these ways 
he may supplement the author's text and add largely to the 
material bearing upon his problem. The criterion for acceptance 
is here as in other study the relevancy to the problem of the 
facts presented to consciousness. That which is irrelevant should 
be rejected, and only the relevant accepted. If, for example, 
the problem is, " How the mineral products of the western states 
have influenced the development of those states," then students 
engaged upon such a problem may neglect all the statements 
made by the author which do not bear upon this problem, but 
they must sift out and accept that which contributes to its solu- 
tion. 

Organisation of ideas a factor in textbook study. 

The step of organizing ideas differs in textbook study from 
the organizing that is done when the student must seek and 
accept data which have not already been organized. Textbooks 
present a certain form of organization and the student must dis- 
cover it in order to see fully the author's treatment of his 
problem. This includes finding the main points in the chapter or 
paragraph involved in the problem, and in grouping the related 
minor points about these main points. This organization of the 
text may be extended or otherwise changed by the use of supple- 
mentary material which the student has gathered and accepted 
as bearing upon the author's problem. An example of organi- 



The Nature of Logical Study. 29 

zation of textbook material is the following: Examination of a 
section in a textbook in United States history shows the author's 
problem to be the explanation of how slavery was introduced 
into the United States. Further study shows a number of de- 
tails which group themselves into a few points : 

I. How slavery was introduced into the United States. 

1. Reasons for its introduction. 

2. The introduction of negroes as slaves. 

A. Time. 

B. Place. 

C. Agency. 

3. The introduction of indentured servants. 

A. Reason for practice. 

B. Character of these servants. 

C. The end of white slavery in America. 

Such organization not only shows the author's mode of treat- 
ment of his subject but it also enables the student to handle his 
material more conveniently. It brings out the main points 
clearly, and about these can be grouped the needed details. 
The irrelevant and the unimportant are weeded out. As a result 
of organization the author's theory as to the solution of his 
problem should have been grasped by the person who is study- 
ing. 

The necessity of deferred judgment in the study of books. 

The same caution which is necessary in logical study in gen- 
eral in regard to accepting hypotheses and theories as pro- 
visional rather than final conclusions, is necessary also in the 
study of books. The same conservatism, also, in forming such 
theories is necessary. Forming hasty judgments and jumping at 
conclusions are of frequent enough occurrence in such subjects 
as literature, history, and other subjects to show the need of 
greater discretion in this direction. It frequently happens that 
judgments of persons or actions, or of other matters, are formed 
before the situation has been sufficiently worked out by the author 
to make the formulation of theory possible. To anticipate the 
course of history so as to introduce the results of a movement at 
the place where its beginning is described is not always feasible 



30 The Nature of Logical Study. 

or advisable, and so final judgment of its significance should be 
deferred until adequate knowledge has been acquired. Any other 
judgment must be regarded as mere hypothesis. Final judgment 
of character in literature or history must await the development 
of events sufficiently to warrant it. The results of some treat- 
ies and laws are so far-reaching that immediate judgments as 
to their value would probably be erroneous. Geography, also, 
frequently calls for the use of caution in drawing conclusions. 
To judge of climate on the grounds of latitude alone, and to think 
that because the people of the Western States are far removed 
from the Atlantic seaboard they are therefore uncultured and 
live in primitive style, are manifestly rash acts of judgment, yet 
such judgments are not uncommon. Further data would doubt- 
less cause the correction of one hypothesis and the abandonment 
of the other. 

If children are permitted to do so, they frequently ask their 
teachers for reasons and explanations, showing that they are 
aware of lack of fulness in their books and that they desire 
further data. Here again it happens that the forming of a posi- 
tive theory must await the right opportunity for the acquisition 
of knowledge. In the end, the ideas gathered may not be suffi- 
cient to warrant the formulation of theory, and if any judgment is 
formed it must be an hypothesis. But the elements of tenta- 
tiveness in both hypotheses and theories must not be lost sight 
of, nor the need of final verification. 

Consideration of the soundness of statements a factor in the 
study of a book. 
The attitude of scientific doubt which manifests itself in the 
consideration of the soundness of statements and the validity of 
data of any kind is quite as essential a factor in textbook study 
as in any other. If it was necessary to scrutinize statements with 
a critical eye when the textbook was but one of several sources 
from which facts were sought, it is the more necessary to exer- 
cise care when the book becomes the main source of data bear- 
ing upon the problem. Histories, grammars, geographies, and 
other texts have been known to contain inaccurate material, and 
even the truth is at times so startling as to cause a challenge in 
the mind of the readers. For example, a certain text in gram- 
mar gives the following definition of a phrase : " A phrase is any 



The Nature of Logical Study. 31 

combination of words that does not include both subject and 
predicate."^ Then any group of words selected at random might 
form a phrase, if only no subject and predicate are included. 
This second definition makes the weakness of the first one more 
clear: "A phrase is a group of related words without subject 
and predicate, and having the use of a single word."^ The fol- 
lowing statement in regard to the Russian peasants is taken from 
a geography textbook published before the recent Russo-Japan- 
ese war and still in use: "It was not until 1863 that serfdom 
was abolished. Hence it is no wonder that the masses are with- 
out education ; but great progress is now being made."^ A 
certain textbook in United States history, in treating of the 
opening events of the Civil War, says : " But the attack on Fort 
Sumter changed the whole situation. Doubt was at an end on 
both sides. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas 
forced now to take one side or the other, soon joined the Con- 
federacy."* The question might well be asked, " What was the 
situation in the border states where both sides were represented? 
Was all doubt ended there by the attack on Fort Sumter?" 
Furthermore, the statements that " We are to remember that, 
though the war was caused by slavery, it was not at first about 
slavery, but about secession,"^ and " The Southerners were nat- 
urally more military than the Northern, people,"^ are somewhat 
startling to the pupils who have been taught up to this time that 
slavery was the cause of the war and have heard little or noth- 
ing of secession, and who have believed the Northern men to 
be in every way equal if not superior to the men of the South. 
Such statements should challenge pupils to question and investi- 
gate their worth. The author's accounts or explanations may be 
compared with one's own experience. His use of sources and his 
method of treating problems need to be considered to determine 
whether he works cautiously or is hasty in his judgments. It is 
often worth while to ask the question, " What is the writer's 
authority for the statements he makes?" "Does he base his 
conclusions upon observation, upon written evidence, or is he 
relying upon hearsay?" These questions are frequently in order 



'Welsh, Lessons in English, v- 34- 

'Webster, Elements of English Grammar, p. sq. 

'The Werner Grammar Schonl Geography, Part I, p. 244. 

^Eggleston, Household History of the United States, p. 310. 

^Ibid, p. 311. 

*Ibid, p. 312. 



32 The Nature of Logical Study. 

in the study of history, geography, and the natural sciences. 
Other books and sources of information may be consulted as a 
means of verification or correction. Caution is especially neces- 
sary if magazine articles and newspapers are used as texts in 
studying certain subjects or phases of subjects. 

It is not intended that pupils shall question everything they 
read or hear. Usually they will not need to have doubts as to 
the reliability of the statements made. But the attitude of ready 
acceptance of everything" needs to be replaced by the attitude of 
mind which questions that which seems out of harmony with 
previous experience, which is startling in its nature, which seems 
to lack sufficient evidence, or which seems too general in its 
scope. Such instances, and possibly others, furnish occasion for 
thought and investigation as to the validity of the material of- 
fered. In this respect, textbook study does not differ from any 
other study in which data are presented to throw light upon some 
situation. Judgment as to the soundness of statements is usually 
necessary though due credence should be given to the results of 
the labors of experts in the several fields of knowledge. 

Verification or the application of theory a factor in the study of 
the textbook. 
The use of verification as a factor in studying books is fre- 
quently modified by the fact that the author makes his own ap- 
plication of the theory he has advanced. But because the books 
are textbooks they are limited in the amount of space that can 
be devoted to any part of a subject, and consequently that which 
is given to verification of theory is usually small, and the amount 
and variety of material presented for giving facility in the ap- 
plication is often inadequate. There is much that can and should 
be done to apply the theories presented in the books and re- 
discovered by the pupils to life-situations in which the latter par- 
ticipate. Real occasions for the use of arithmetical ideas and cor- 
rect grammatical constructions are possible. All of the forms of 
expression described under this topic in the consideration of 
logical study are applicable in textbook study, whether it be 
oral or written expression, constructive work, social activity, 
some application to the affairs of ordinary life, or even the use 
of the theory as the basis for further thought. One need only 
recognize the value of application as a factor in higher study 



The Nature of Logical Study. 33 

and look for opportunities for employing it and frequently some 
appropriate form will be found. As was said in a previous chap- 
ter, the time for using the theory may be delayed until a favor- 
able opportunity arrives, but often the verification may be made 
as soon as the theory is clearly understood. Strength and clear- 
ness of the ideas are very necessary in order that these may 
function when there is an opportunity for them to do so. 

Memorising as a factor in study. 

With ideas selected and associated through the use of the 
factors of study already discussed, memorizing of the logical type 
has already been included to some extent. Its further use in the 
study of material selected from textbooks does not differ from 
the memorizing described under logical study. Its use is both 
possible and advisable in such a connection. 

Deductive study of books. 

So much of the study of books in school is deductive in its 
character that but little time need be devoted to its explanation 
here. Parsing and sentential analysis in grammar, the solution 
of problems in mathematics, the explanations of geographical 
phenomena, and the interpretation of history all involve the call- 
ing up of principles, rules, theories or other general forms of 
knowledge and the application of them to concrete instances. 
The criticism has been made that this form of logical study has 
been over-emphasized in school and that pupils have been ex- 
pected to apply general ideas which they do not clearly under- 
stand. Since both inductive and deductive study are possible in 
school work, it may be said in general that when pupils are 
found to lack the general knowledge needed for the solution of 
problems, the inductive form of study should be employed ; but 
that when the pupils possess the principles needed for explana- 
tion or interpretation the deductive form of study should be 
used. The two methods might thus be used in the same study 
period in connection with the same lesson, or they may not thus 
occur. It depends upon the nature of the lesson and the mental 
equipment of the pupils how frequently and closely they are 
associated. 



34 The Nature of Logical Study. 

Relation of proper textbook study to initiative and self-develop- 
ment. 

Although the use of books does not afford the same opportun- 
ity for the use of one's own powers, nor provide the same mo- 
tives and interests as the study which arises from Hfe-situations 
where the problems are felt to be of moment, yet they do furnish 
a means for self-development and self-expression if they are 
rightly used. It is for the purpose of furthering this right use 
that the explanations of this chapter have been given. If one 
would be helped by the use of books, he must master them and 
not be mastered by them; i. e. he must weigh, judge, test before 
he accepts their statements, or else he loses his own individuality. 
It requires the exercise of initiative to discover the problems in 
books, just as it does to discover them in logical study aside from 
books. It requires it, also, to select, accept, reject, and organ- 
ize data, and grasp the author's theory. One of the highest 
expressions of the self will be found in the testing of statements 
and in the recognition of judgments as tentative because of faulty 
or inadequate data. And so, also, in the form of application 
which the student employs there is opportunity for the develop- 
ment of his own personality, provided he be free to exercise 
choice as to its form. 

If textbook study be limited to rote learning or to deductive 
study, the opportunities for the exercise of initiative and self- 
expression are greatly limited. Since the school's recognized 
function is to further the wise development of these powers of 
the pupils, it should not neglect so valuable an agency as the 
higher form of study offers. If study could be directed in gen- 
uine life-situations where problems of real importance to pupils 
abound, the opportunities for self-expression and development 
would be most favorable. But textbook study is not devoid of 
possibilities in this direction and these possibilities should be 
recognized and utilized. 

Before leaving this discussion of the use of systematic study in 
connection with school work, the question should be considered 
as to whether all of the factors of higher study are necessary in 
all study. The answer must be a decided negative. First of all, 
as was pointed out in the first chapter, a great deal of school 
work does not deal with the assimilation of knowledge but with 
the mastery of technique : for example, spelling, mechanical 



The Nature of Logical Study. 35 

work in arithmetic, and the formal side of reading. There the 
mechanical side prevails and the readjustment of ideas based 
upon their thought-relations is not involved. In the second place, 
much of the subject-matter which does involve the relationship 
of ideas based upon meaning is of such a nature as to present 
little of value in the way of problems. It is intended to enter- 
tain, or to cultivate taste and sentiment rather than to furnish 
food for thought. Some school histories, books about nature, 
and a good deal of the reading matter and literature put before 
pupils belong to this class. They present few logical problems of 
value and call for little purposive thinking. Whether they should 
do so to a greater extent than is now the case, is a question 
worthy of consideration, as is also the question as to whether 
the logical possibilities, slight though they are, should not be 
more fully realized. Even in subjects or subject-matter which 
call for systematic study there are great differences in the nature 
and importance of problems presented from time to time. Not 
all problems are worth the time and effort involved in the use 
of all the factors of study ; and some may not require the use of 
all in order to reach a solution which is entirely satisfactory. 
Frequently minor problems present themselves during the study 
of larger ones. It is sometimes necessary to ignore them en- 
tirely or to postpone their consideration to some other time. 
If their solution is indispensable to the main problem in hand, 
then time and attention must be given to them as to other prob- 
lems. 

It may be said, further, that some problems may involve sev- 
eral or all of the factors of systematic study and yet be solved 
quickly, while other problems may require a long time for solu- 
tion, being taken up for consideration from time to time as cir- 
cumstances determine. For some reason the gathering of data 
may be deferred, and meanwhile the problem rests unsolved ; or 
delay may be due to some other cause. In general it may be 
said that the length of time spent in studying problems varies. 
Several may be disposed of in one study period, or one may 
extend through a long period, being considered from time to time 
as the work develops. 



CHAPTER IV 

The Ability of Children in the Elementary School to 

Study 

Having seen the nature of logical study and having followed 
the application of its various steps to the mastery of a lesson in 
a book, it is of great importance to know whether children are 
capable of studying in the manner described. Can children see 
the author's problem, or find the underlying thought running 
through a lesson? Can they collect material bearing upon this 
problem? Cap they find the important points in a chapter, or 
paragraph, or other section, offering a problem ? Can they ques- 
tion statements, and see discrepancies in the material offered? 
Can they, in general, employ the various factors of logical study? 
If mechanical study is the only kind of which children in the ele- 
mentary schools are capable, then the whole discussion of study 
down to this point is irrelevant as far as they are concerned. 

Factors influencing the preparation of the experiments to deter- 
mine the ability of pupils to study. 

The attempt to find an adequate answer to the questions in 
the preceding paragraph involved the consideration of many seri- 
ous difficulties. The grades, the number of children, the loca- 
tion of the schools, the subjects to be used in testing, the nature 
of the exercises, and the manner of conducting them — all these 
and various other points had to be determined before the tests 
could be given. The situation was made even more complicated 
by the desire to train part of the classes in systematic study after 
the first tests had been given, and then to give all pupils, both 
trained and untrained, a second series similar to the first, with 
the purpose of finding out what differences were to be observed 
in the results obtained from the two classes of pupils. 

The desire to give part of the pupils some training in syste- 
matic study necessarily determined the location where some of 
the tests should be given, since the training must be conducted 
under the direction of those who were familiar with the theory 
of study which was the subject of experimentation. This theory 



The Nature of Logical Study. 37 

had been presented in the year 1905-06 by Professor F, M. 
McMurry before a class in Teachers College, Columbia Univer- 
sity. This class was composed entirely of experienced teachers, 
and to these teachers the appeal for assistance was made during 
the year 1906-07. Only part of those appealed to were able to 
promise help, but through these teachers certain classes in Bal- 
timore, Md., Passaic, N. J., Westport, Conn., and in the Train- 
ing Department of the State Normal School in Macomb, 111., 
were secured. Two teachers in the Speyer School, the School 
of Practice of Teachers College, agreed to attempt the training 
of their classes, also. In addition to the classes already men- 
tioned, others were obtained for testing without training in the 
public schools of New York City, of Passaic, N. J., and of In- 
dianapolis, Ind. 

The subject of geography was chosen for the 'tests, both be- 
cause it furnishes abundant opportunities for proper study, and 
also because it is a subject which is quite sure to be taught in 
all of the higher grades of the elementary schools. History is 
not taught so generally as geography, and for this reason was 
not selected for the experiments. The ideal procedure would 
have been to train the pupils in the method of study in connec- 
tion with all of their school subjects, and to test them in all of 
these, but while the teacher might have trained them in all 
branches offering opportunities for logical study, the testing 
would have been too arduous and too time-consuming, especially 
since more than a thousand pupils were tested. 

The tests were given to pupils of the sixth and seventh grades 
onlv. Pupils in these grades are supposed to be able to express 
themselves sufficiently well in writing to be able to work upon 
the material given. The eighth grade was not chosen because 
of the possibility of wishing to give similar tests during the fol- 
lowing year, in which case, the eighth grade pupils would not 
have been available because they would have left the elementary 
school. 

In order to make the results as general as possible, the tests 
were given to as many classes as could be obtained for the pur- 
pose. More than twelve hundred pupils wTote upon the first 
series, which was given early in the year 1907. When the second 
test was given three months later, several classes dropped out, 
and the number was reduced to about eleven hundred. In each 



38 The Nature of Logical Study. 

pair of tests, only those results were considered which were ob- 
tained from pupils present in both of them. 

The nature of the tests employed. 

Five different kinds of tests were given so that both the sub- 
jective and objective sides of the studying might be observed. 
It seemed as if the studying process employed might be more 
clearly seen if the pupils not only described their way of study- 
ing but also performed some work which tested their ability to 
employ the various factors of study. The tabulation of the re- 
sults of two of the tests has not yet been completed. 

The subject-matter used in the tests was selected from geo- 
graphy textbooks intended for use in the elementary schools. 
The Redway and Hinman, the Tarr and McMurry. the Frye, 
the Dodge, and the ircnier texts were all drawn upon for ma- 
terial. 

Ten tests were given to each of the two grades selected, five 
being given in the first series, and five in the second. The re- 
quirements for the corresponding tests in the two series were 
alike in nature. In preparing each one of these tests, material 
was selected for five tests, as nearly equal in interest and diffi- 
culty as possible. Each of these fifty tests was prepared as if 
to be presented to a class, and then from each of the ten groups 
oif five, two tests were drawn at random, the first one drawn be- 
ing laid aside for the first test in that group, and the second one 
drawn being used for the second series. Each test with direc- 
tions as to how it was to be used was then printed, so that each 
pupil who wrote the tests had his own printed slip containing the 
subject-matter and directions. 

The first test in each series was probably the most difficult. It 
consisted of a short selection from one of the geography text- 
books and was accompanied by the following requirement: 
" Here is a lesson from a book such as you use in class. Do 
whatever you think you ought to do in studying this lesson 
thoroughly, and then tell (w^ite down) the different things you 
have done in studying it. Do not write anything else." If the 
other tests had been given first, they would probably have in- 
fluenced the pupils in the preparation of this one ; so this one was 
given first. It was hoped that the results would show whether 
any pupils were employing the factors of logical study, and to 
what extent they were employing them. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 39 

In connection with this test, which was called test A,^ these 
directions were sent to the teachers : " When test A is given, 
the class should be observed as it works, and notes should be 
taken as to what the different pupils do. If a pupil gets one or 
more books for reference, consults the dictionary, sits and thinks, 
etc., it should be noted, so that the teacher's notes can be com- 
pared with the child's account of what he has done. These notes 
should be forwarded with the test papers when they are com- 
pleted. Test A is the only one in which the pupils may be per- 
mitted to consult books, and they are to do that in test A only 
if they think of it themselves." 

The second test in each series, test B,- consisted of a few para- 
graphs of subject matter from a textbook. The pupils were in- \ 
structed to write a list of the important questions whose answers 
were found in the lesson. This exercise was intended to test the 
pupils' ability to discriminate between the important and the rela- 
tively unimportant ideas in the lesson. 

In the third test, test C,^ the pupils were given a question 
with this direction : " Do not answer this question, but write 
down everything you think you ought to do in finding the answer 
to it." For the first series in the sixth grade the question was, 
" Why is Pittsburg such an important commercial and manu- 
facturing city ?" For the second series, it was the following : 
" Tobacco used to be grown almost entirely in the Southern 
States, but now it is grown extensively in the Northern States 
as well. Why has this change come about?" In the first series 
for the seventh grade the question was : " Why do terrible fam- 
ines occur in India every few years?" In the second series, the 
pupils were asked, " If you were a voter and a governor was to 
be elected in your State, how would you decide which of the 
candidates to vote for?" 

Test C, like test A, instead of making some definite require- 
ment of the pupils, emphasized the subjective side of the prob- 
lem. In test A the pupils were to tell what they had done; in 
test C they were to tell what they would do. The object was the 
same, that is, to discover to what extent the pupils were employ- 
ing the factors of logical study. 

In the fourth test, test D,* the pupils were given the slip con- 

'See Appendix. 
*See Appendix. 
'See Appendix. 
■*See Appendix. 



40 The Nature of Logical Study. 

taining subject-matter from a text-book. The accompanying 
direction was : " Study this lesson until you think you know it, 
and then return it to your teacher." When the first slip was re- 
turned, a second one was given to the pupils. This second slip 
contained questions about the text which had just been studied. 
These questions were of such a nature that they did not permit 
of verbatim answers, but required rather that the important facts 
stated in the lesson be used in framing the answers. This exer- 
cise was intended to test the mastery of the main points in a 
lesson, rather than the memorizing of the words. 

The last test in each series, test E,^ called directly for systema- 
tic study of a lesson. It consisted of a slip containing subject 
matter from a textbook, and an accompanying slip containing the 
directions and requirements, both slips being given to the pupils 
at the same time. The pupils were to find the answers to the 
following questions, numbering them as the questions are num- 
bered : 

1. What is the subject of this lesson? 

2. Write a list of the principal topics in it. 

3. What do you think is the most important thing in this les- 
son? 

4. What are your reasons for thinking this so important? 

5. What other facts do you know about any of these topics? 

6. What questions would you ask in regard to anything in this 
lesson that is not clear to you or that you would like to know 
more about? 

This test was placed at the end of the series so that it might 
not serve as a clue in the writing of any of the other exer- 
cises. 

Directions in regard to the manner of conducting the tests^ 
were sent to each principal in whose building the tests were to 
be given. In general, these directions were intended to exclude 
all talking by the teacher ; to provide that the pupils work with- 
out assistance of any kind from any person ; that each child 
should have all the time he needed for the completion of the 
test ; and that the tests should be given during the forenoons of 
successive days. Instructions were given as to how the head- 



^See Appendix. 
^See Appendix. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 41 

ing of all papers was to be written, and in regard to other de- 
tails of the preparation of the papers. 

Each child's time record was to be indicated on the heading, 
and the directions said : " Each child should have as much time 
as he needs for each test, * * * Begin to count time after 
the heading is written. Be sure each child indicates it." These 
directions proved not to be sufficiently explicit, so that the time 
records do not all have the same meaning. They therefore pos- 
sess little value as a basis for comparison. 

Test A. 

Table P shows the results obtained by an examination of the 
papers written for test A. The sixth and seventh grades are 
separated in this report, as are also the classes in each grade 
which were trained in systematic studying during the three 
months which elapsed between the first and second series of 
tests. 

In preparing this test, most of the pupils did one of four 
things. They followed the directions exactly, or they wrote down 
the results of their study, or they told what they would do in 
studying a lesson, or they wrote the facts of the lesson either in 
the form of a verbatim reproduction or more briefly. Some- 
times two or more of these modes of treatment were found com- 
bined on the same paper. The reports of what the pupils said 
they would do were kept quite distinct from the reports which 
showed what had been done ; but they were considered as having 
value in that they revealed the ideas of the pupils in regard to 
studying. Probably some of the pupils actually did the things 
which they said they would do, and used the wrong tense in 
reporting it. It may have been the case, also, that some of the 
pupils either did not have their textbooks and books of refer- 
ence, or they may not have felt free to use them without per- 
mission. One teacher reported that the pupils used books 
" stealthily," and in that class only a few reported that they had 
used books, and the number who said that they would use them 
was not much larger. Another teacher reported thus : " Before 
the pupils were permitted to look at the printed test, they were 
told that ordinarily they must wait for permission of teachers 
to take books out, or to go to the closet for material. For this 

^See Appendix. 



42 The Nature of Logical Study. 

work they had permission to do anything they found necessary 
in order to do the work." This teacher did not follow the direc- 
tion about refraining from all explanations or talk of any kind, 
but her suggestion and the freedom permitted to the class re- 
sulted in more than forty per cent, of the class using books of 
some kind, while others reported that they would use them, 
bringing the total per cent, up to nearly fifty. 

Factors of logical study shown in Test A. 

The various items in Tables I, II, and IIP were arranged after 
an examination of several sets of papers, and not according to 
some preconceived scheme. Those in Table I which show most 
clearly the use of the factors of logical study are the ones in re- 
gard to finding the subject, finding the most important points, 
verifying statements, supplementing the lesson, and preparing 
questions. 

The extent to which the pupils tested found the subject. 

In the first series, a total of 14 reported that they had found 
the subject, or the work on their papers showed that they had 
found it. In the second test, 25 reported similarly. If we add 
to these totals the number who reported that they would find the 
subject, they become 16 and 26 respectively, or 1.9% and 4.3% 
of the whole number of pupils writing both tests. How many 
pupils unintentionally concealed what they did by saying that 
they " thought." or " tried to understand," or that they " studied 
the lesson," cannot be estimated ; but the number of those who 
possessed the ability to find the subject is shown by an examina- 
tion of Table III. 

The ability of the pupils to find the subject. 

In test E, the results, of which are included in Table III, the 
requirement was made to find the subject of the lesson, and the 
total results are very different from those given in Table I. In 
test E of the first series, 301 pupils or 36.4%, found a subject 
which was considered adequate; and in the second series, 114 
answers or 13.8% of the whole, were similarly marked. The 
sixth grade in writing test E of the first series gave in most cases a 
subject which included but part of the lesson, many of them 

*See Appendix. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 43 

giving Rivers as the subject. In the second series, they reversed 
themselves, and gave a subject which was too general, most of 
them saying that Georgia was the subject. On the whole, but 
few of the subjects were irrelevant, and there were almost no 
failures to give a subject of some kind. 

The results of the two tests indicate that while these pupils 
do not find the subject of the lesson to any great extent when 
studying without definite directions, they are capable to a con- 
siderable extent of finding it when they are required to do so. 

The tendency and ability of pupils to organi:::e subject-matter. 

In regard to finding the most important points or facts in the 
lesson, Table I shows that in test A the number of pupils who 
either actually gave these facts, or said they found them, is 88, 
or 10.4%, for the first series, and 171, or 20.2% for the second. 
Adding those who said they would find them, the numbers be- 
come 109, or 12.9% for the first series; and 226, or 26.8% for 
the second. In test E, where the pupils were directed to write 
a list of the principal topics, the response was better, even though 
in this test, the replies were classified as adequate or inadequate. 
Table III shows that in the first series 265, or 32%, prepared 
adequate lists of topics; while in the second series 214, or 28.8%, 
did so. The number of those who prepared no lists is very 
small, being less than 2% in either test. 

In judging of the adequacy of a list of principal topics, two 
questions were kept in mind : Do the topics cover the entire 
lesson? Do they include the main points only, or are they too 
detailed? Some pupils gave topics which were very good as 
far as they went, but they left out some important section of 
the lesson. For example, in test E of the second series, a num- 
ber of children omitted to include a topic which would cover 
the last paragraph, the paragraph which tells about the homes 
of the diflferent races, or, how the houses of the races are sepa- 
rated from each other. On the other hand, some pupils pre- 
pared a topic for nearly every sentence in the lesson. Such lists 
as these could not be reckoned as adequate because they were 
either too meagre or because they were too detailed in nature. 
However, even such lists show some degree of ability, and taken 
into consideration with those who prepared adequate lists, they 



44 The Nature of Logical Study. 

show that these children are able, in varying degrees of efficiency, 
to analyze a lesson and find the essential facts in it. 

The extent to zvhich pupils questioned or verified the author's 
statements. 

Table I shows that few children thought of questioning the 
author's statements while writing test A. In the first series 7, 
and in the second series 10, reported that they either had veri- 
fied or would verify the text. One boy reported, " The next 
thing I did was to find out if everything was true what the paper 
said." Others referred to the maps or texts to see if the state- 
ments about the proximity of Africa to Europe and Asia were 
true. One child said, " I found out that Europe and Asia were 
really almost near each other. I found this out in my Natural 
Advanced Geography." 

In test E, the opportunity for doubt was given in the sixth 
question : " What questions would you ask in regard to any- 
thing in this lesson that is not clear to you or that you would 
like to know more about?" A good many questions were asked 
which are answered in the text placed before the pupils. These 
might indicate doubt as to the reliability of the statements read, 
but probably few of them do so. For example, in the sixth grade, 
in test E of the second series, the following questions were writ- 
ten : " Was Atlanta the capital of Georgia ?" " What is Sav- 
annah noted for?" "Is Savannah situated on the coast of 
Georgia?" "What is eighteen miles from the ocean?" "What 
are the chief exports?" These are probably merely memory 
questions asked rather as a matter of form than because the 
pupils wished confirmation of the statements of the exercise. 
A very few pupils showed genuine difficulty in accepting the 
text. One child wrote : " The question is not clear to me because 
you say that Savannah was taken by the British during the Revo- 
lutionary War. And when I studied the geography I found that 
Savana was in Georgia and belonged to the U. S. So please 
let me no how it happened that U. S. got it back." One pupil 
in the seventh grade, when writing about the races of people, 
expressed herself as follows : " It says that America is the home 
of the Indians, and down below it says that the land of the 
Indians is bounded on all sides by the sea. I disagree with this 
answer." 



The Nature of Logical Study. 45 

On the whole, the pupils accepted the subject-matter placed 
before them without questioning its accuracy. The tests do not 
reveal any power the children in these classes may possess of 
seeing discrepancies between what they read and what they 
know. Whether they really possess this power and would exer- 
cise it if permitted or required to do so is a point left undecided 
by these two exercises. 

The ability to supplement the text of the lesson. 

The evidence in regard to the ability of pupils to supplement 
the text is stronger than it is regarding the factors already con- 
sidered. In test A of the first series for the sixth grade, the 
pupils used geographies, books of reference, and maps, and some 
wrote that they tried to imagine the map of Africa which they 
had previously studied, and tried to see the location of the 
places mentioned. 

In the second series, in the corresponding test, the pupils 
showed by their questions, and by the citation of facts already 
known about the Puritans, that they were adding to the text 
placed before them or that they were tending to do so. 

The seventh grades supplemented in similar ways, i. e., by 
naming books to which they had referred, by giving additional 
facts, and by asking questions which showed that they were 
reaching out beyond the lesson. 

A few teachers stated in these reports on test A of the first 
series, that not all of the pupils who said they had used books, 
had really done so. On the other hand, one class, at; least, that 
usually made frequent use of references did not do so in con- 
nection with this test. The reports of many of the pupils con- 
tained evidence of outside reading, so that a large part of the 
children must have made use of references in the preparation 
of the test. In the first series 173, or 20.5%, supplemented the 
text, or reported that they had done so. In the second series, 
269, or 31.8%, gave evidence of having done so. These num- 
bers would be considerably increased by adding those who said 
they would refer to other books, or in some other way add to 
the statements given. 

In test E, the supplementing is shown by the questioning in 
response to the sixth question of the test. In making the tabu- 
lation, all questions not relevant to the lesson were included under 



46 The Nature of Logical Study. 

the heading, '" Did not understand." If, then, from the total 
number of questions asked in each test, the number of questions 
answered in the text be subtracted, we have left the number of 
questions which tend to further the pupils' understanding and 
knowledge of the texts given. The results thus obtained show 
that in test E of the first series, 454 supplementary questions 
were asked, and that 597 were asked in the corresponding test of 
the second series. Part of these questions were about the mean- 
ings of words, part about facts, and part about reasons, the fact 
questions largely predominating. In the first series, 45 pupils 
asked about the meanings of words ; in the second test 33 asked 
similar questions. Questions about facts were asked by 251 
pupils in the first test, and by 294 in the second. Reasons were 
called for by 145 pupils in the first test, and by 104 in the second. 
Thus not only the number of the questions, but their nature as 
well, and the number of pupils asking them show that pupils 
possess the ability to supplement the text given them for study. 

Nature of some of the questions asked. 

Some of the questions are of great value. Many children 
asked what rosin and naval stores are. They asked for the loca- 
tion of Atlanta, and wanted to know why and how Atlanta was 
destroyed. They asked if Atlanta and Savannah are on the 
Fall Line, and wanted to know how Savannah could have so deep 
a harbor when it is so far from the coast. They inquired whether 
the coal and iron mines, which the text says are in the north, are 
in the northern part of Georgia, or in the Northern states. Why 
has Atlanta grown rapidly? How can Georgia manufacture so 
much with such poor harbors? How do they get the rosin and 
turpentine? All these are questions asked by sixth grade pupils 
writing test E in the second series. In the lesson about the 
races, given to the seventh grades, some of the questions asked 
were : Who are the people along the Kongo ? How do they live ? 
Where is the original home of the white race? Why did some 
of the people migrate into other countries and others stay in 
their own country? Why don't the mountains of our country 
separate any races of people? ^Who came to know about these 
different races of people? Why do the races differ from each 
other? In the lesson about India, some of the questions asked 
by the seventh grade were as follows : What are Aryan people 



The Nature of Logical Study. 47 

and what are jute goods? In what part of India is the manu- 
facturing? What right has the British government to rule over 
India? Could the people of India do more for themselves if so 
disposed? If the British government didn't have control over 
India, would it get along as well ? 

Indeiiniteness in questioning. 

Many more questions were intended which were not expressed 
as questions. In the first series, 288 pupils, or 34.8%, indicated 
subjects about which they would like to ask questions, but did 
not ask the questions. Sometimes they simply gave topics, and 
it was not clear what the question was intended to bring out 
about the topics. In the second test, 243 pupils, or 29.3%, were 
so lacking in clearness that the questions were not understood. 
It is evident, however, that many pupils in these grades can ask 
questions, and questions of value. Other pupils need training 
in clear expression so that they may be more exact in their 
questioning. As it is, they merely hint as to the direction in 
which their thoughts tend. 

Further evidence of the ability of children of the grades tested 
to add relevant matter to the text given is seen in the answers to 
the fifth question in test E. This question reads : What further 
facts do you know about any of these topics? In the first test, 
about 28% of the pupils gave facts that were relevant; in the 
second test the number who gave related facts was a little more 
than 29% of the whole number. A very few pupils gave irrele- 
vant matter, and more than one-third in each test gave facts from 
the text used in the test. The latter probably misunderstood 
the question. 

The ability to see problems relating to the lesson. 

That children in the sixth and seventh grades can see prob- 
lems related to the subject which they are studying is shown by 
the questions quoted above in the discussion of the sixth ques- 
tion in test E. Their ability to sense the author's problems is 
revealed in a curious way. In writing test A, a number of pupils 
began to write a list of the important facts or topics in the les- 
son, and gradually changed their statements to questions, indi- 
cating that they had confused the statement of facts with the 
questions which called for them. They were feeling the author's 



48 The Nature of Logical Study. 

questions or problems which had brought about the statements in 
the text. The following paper, given verbatim, illustrates this 
tendency : 

" When studing I put down the chief parts, as follows : When 
they settled. What goods they imported. What we see know 
from olden generations. What the settlers began to do. What 
aded the manufacturing and industry. What sprang up along 
the coasts. In time what did New England become. What are 
the most important goods. What did the waterfalls do too help 
manufacturing. On what chief thing did New England became 
a great country." 

In some papers, statements or topics only were given. In 
others, there were questions only ; but a good many were of the 
mixed type shown above. 

The questions asked in the two kinds of tests, A and E, indi- 
cate strongly that pupils can feel the author's problem, and can 
see problems growing out of the lesson presented, i. e., supple- 
mentary problems. 

Grouping related ideas. 

In test A of the second series, 12 pupils in a certain seventh 
grade said that, in studying the lesson, they had grouped related 
ideas together. Six others in the same grade said that they 
would do so. Five pupils in the sixth grade representing four 
different classes said they would group related ideas in study- 
ing the lesson assigned. As no pupil actually put any of this 
work on his paper, the ability of these pupils in this direction 
cannot be estimated. All that can be said is that at least 23 
pupils of the whole number whose papers were counted had 
some idea of grouping together ideas which are related in some 
way. 

What test C required. 

Test C differs radically from tests A and E in nature. In 
the two latter, the text was given and the pupils were required 
to find the problem, if any problem was found. In test C, how- 
ever, only the problem was given and the pupils were to show 
how thev would solve it. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 49 

How the pupils proposed to solve the problems. 

In examining Table 11/ which gives the results of this test, 
it is noticed that very few children wrote facts or questions, pos- 
sibly because the text was not before their eyes to suggest either 
procedure. The things which they did most frequently were to 
give the topics which they would try to study, and to tell the 
sources to which they would go for information. In the first 
series 539, or 61.3%, of the pupils indicated the sources to which 
they would go for information ; in the second series 473, or 
53.8%, did so. These numbers do not include those who said 
they would ask teachers, parents, or other people for the facts 
needed to answer the questions. 

Sources of information named by the pupils. 

The sources named by the pupils of the sixth grade include 
geography textbooks, supplementary geographies, maps, ency- 
clopedias, histories, newspapers, the library, the almanac, and 
the dictionary, most of these being given repeatedly. One child 
suggested asking a man from Pittsburg why that city had be- 
come so important; and another said he would ask the cigar 
dealer why tobacco is now grown extensively in the North. 

The first and second series of test C for the seventh grade 
are very different and while not furnishing a good basis for 
comparison of results, served to show whether the pupils were 
thinking of what they were doing, or were working mechani- 
cally. In the first series, this grade gave about the same refer- 
ences as the sixth, but gave magazines instead of the almanac. 
One pupil suggested writing to an editor to find the answer. 

In the second series, most pupils said they would read papers, 
or magazines, or letters about the candidates for office, and 
would look up the records of the men. Six said they would use 
the history, geography, encyclopedia, or dictionary in answer- 
ing the question. They did not mention what they expected to 
find about the candidates in these books. Several of these sev- 
enth grade pupils gave answers which showed good thinking. 
They would listen to people talking, would hear lectures and 
speeches ; would try to see the candidates and ask them ques- 
tions ; they would try to get acquainted with friends of the can- 
didates and learn about the latter from them ; or they would 

'See Appendix. 

4 



50 The Nature of Logical Study. 

write to the newspapers. While a very few declared boldly that 
they would vote for the candidate of the party to which they 
belonged and would work for his election, many pupils said 
they would investigate the private and political life of the can- 
didates, and would vote for the best man. The following paper, 
written by a boy, is typical of a good many of the papers writ- 
ten: 

" I would first see which one seemed to be the best one to 
govern. I would find out all about their characters personally. 
Then I would see if they were able to do their business. I 
would then size them up very close, and then vote for the one 
I thought was the most fit for the office." 

About one-sixth of the whole number who wrote this test 
expressed themselves in such a way that it seemed as if they in- 
tended to find out about one candidate only. 

This test about the selection of a candidate, test C of the sec- 
ond series for the seventh grade, gave more opportunities for 
originality and independent procedure than the others, since it 
was decidedly out of the beaten track of the rest of the work. 
Though only about one-third of the pupils writing this test gave 
answers which were considered adequate, many more showed 
intelligent, original efiforts as far as they went. Unfortunately 
they stopped short of fulfilling the requirement of the question. 

The formulation of hypotheses by pupils. 

An unexpected result of this test was the manifestation of the 
ability of the pupils to form hypotheses as a basis for solving 
the problem presented to them. More than a score of children in 
each of the two grades volunteered explanations which were 
quite relevant. This was especially noticeable in the sixth grade 
test about tobacco growing in the North, and in the seventh 
grade test about famines in India. 

Some of the explanations given by the sixth grade are as fol- 
lows: I. Change in climate either in the South or in the North. 
2. South needs land for cotton. 3. Better facilities for manufac- 
ture and transportation in the North. 4. Cheaper to grow to- 
bacco in the North than to have it shipped from the South. 
5. Increased demand for tobacco. 6. Changes in economic con- 
ditions in the South due to the Civil War. 7. People of the 



The Nature of Logical Study. 51 

North have learned how to cultivate tobacco. 8. Possibly a 
better quality can be grown in the North than in the South. 

In regard to the frequent famines in India, the seventh grade 
pupils hazarded the hypotheses that they might be due to clima- 
tic conditions, to the nature of the surface, to poor soil, to un- 
favorable winds, to inability to obtain sufficient water for irriga- 
tion, to occasional floods, to some insect which destroyed the 
crops, to oppressive government like that of Turkey, to density 
of population, to lack of knowledge of farming, to indolence, to 
lack of foresight or thrift, or to lack of adequate means for 
transportation and communication. 

Not all the theories advanced were as relevant or sensible as 
those just given ; but the fact that so many were given is indi- 
cative of the ability of children in these grades to form hypotheses 
which are worth considering as possible explanations of the prob- 
lems demanding solution. 

Summary. 

On the whole, the three different kinds of tests in geography 
given pupils in the sixth and seventh grades show that these 
pupils can employ the various factors of higher or logical study 
to a considerable extent. They were evidently not conscious of 
the steps in systematic study ; yet supplementing their account 
of what they had done or would do in study by the results pro- 
duced when they were called upon to employ the various factors, 
a sufficiently large number gave evidence of their use to warrant 
the conclusion that these pupils can find the subject or leading 
thought of a lesson ; they can organize the material presented ; 
they can supplement the textbook intelligently ; they can ask in- 
telligent questions involving valuable problems ; and they can to 
some extent formulate sensible hypotheses for the solution of 
problems. The ability to work in characteristic ways is shown by 
the sources employed for information, by the theories advanced, 
by the questions asked, and, to a lesser degree, in various other 
ways. 



CHAPTER V 

Are Pupils Being Taught to Study Systematically in the 
Elementary Schools 

The waste of effort shozvn by the tests. 

In the preceding chapter it was shown that a sufficiently large 
number of pupils in the grades tested employed the steps of logi- 
cal study to warrant the conclusion that it is within the power 
■of pupils of at least the sixth and seventh grades to make use of 
them. Aside, however, from the indefiniteness of the language 
employed, which often quite concealed the pupils' meaning, 
Tables I, II, and III reveal the fact that there is great waste in 
studying. In test A of the first series, 14% described their pro- 
cedure in studying in indefinite terms, saying they would " think," 
" study," " try to understand." About 38% of the pupils thought 
the thing to do was to write a more or less literal version of the 
text, and about 29% memorized the text to some extent. Nearly 
one-fifth of the whole number showed that they did not know 
what to do either by doing nothing at all or doing something 
not required. These figures show that a good deal of eflFort was 
undirected, and that much was misdirected. The pupils wavered 
between indefiniteness, and mechanical study. They did not 
clearly know the right things to do, and there was a great scatter- 
ing of effort in various fruitless kinds of work. 

Table II shows a very high per cent, of those whose ideas 
were so indefinitely expressed that the meaning could not be de- 
termined. It shows, also, great expenditure of effort in unneces- 
sary ways. While about one-third of the pupils showed by their 
answers that they could take adequate measures to solve the prob- 
lem given, thus indicating that it is possible for pupils of the 
age of these to do such work, the question is: What about the 
two-thirds whose work was not adequate? Some solutions were 
distinctly inadequate, from about one-fourth to one-third, and 
the rest of the papers were so indefinite that no judgment could 
be formed as to their worth in this particular. 

Table III reveals a still greater degree of inefficiency than 
either of the other two. In test E of the first series, more than 



The Nature of Logical Study. 53 

50% of the pupils failed to find the main thought in an ordinary 
geography lesson ; in the corresponding test of the second series, 
more than 75% failed to find it. More than two-thirds in each 
test failed to make an adequate list of the principal topics, though 
the matter presented was simple enough so that some pupils made 
excellent lists. The greatest difficulty experienced by the pupils 
was in connection with the requirements to find the most im- 
portant thing in the lesson, and to give reasons for thinking it 
so important. An appreciable per cent, chose a minor point in 
the lesson, and several chose something not in the lesson at all. 
Many named more than one thing as being the most important 
thing in the lesson, some even including practically every point 
of the lesson. Such answers had to be classified as indefinite. 
Many gave a topic which was so general, so unlimited, that their 
answers, too, were marked indefinite. The reasoning gave the 
poorest results in these tests. It was based frequently upon 
some personal consideration. A thing was considered most im- 
portant because it was interesting to the writer ; because he had 
never known it before ; because he Imd known it before ; because 
he might need it in his geography lesson ; because he might need 
to talk about it some day. Or, having named several items as 
being most important, a pupil would then advance reasons for 
the importance of one of them. 

The lack of clearness in expression and the misdirection of 
mental activity are shown in the responses to the fifth and sixth 
requirements of test E. In response to the question : What other 
facts do you know about any of these topics ? more than fifty per 
cent, of the answers in each test were irrelevant, were taken from 
the text which was being studied, or bore no relation to the re- 
quirement. 

Reasons zvhy the factors of logical study are not employed more 
generally. 

If enough pupils use the various factors of proper study to 
show that it is possible for children of their age to employ them, 
the questions arise : Why do not many more of the pupils em- 
ploy them? Why are they not in common use? In trying 
to solve this problem, a study was made of the present school- 
room situation by means of visits to some seventy classes, and 
by a questionnaire given to one hundred and sixty-five teachers 



54 J^^^ Nature of Logical Study. 

with the object of trying to find what their ideas in regard to 
study are, and what they try to have their pupils do when they 
teach them to study. 

This questionnaire consisted of six parts and the results are 
shown in Tables IV to IX inclusive.^ As far as could be avoided, 
no clue was given to the teachers writing this questionnaire which 
could in any way influence their answers. The aim was to dis- 
cover the things which stood out prominently enough in con- 
sciousness to secure expression when the process of study was be- 
ing described or illustrated. Had direct questions been asked 
about the various factors of study, probably many of the teachers 
would have felt the influence of suggestion in shaping their 
replies. 

The facts given by teachers when describing how they mem- 
orize, are shown in Table IV. It is interesting to note that at 
least 78% of the teachers read or study a poem or chapter be- 
fore memorizing it. That is as it should be, since memorizing 
should be based upon thought relations. But does the studying 
here referred to consist of the tracing or establishing of such 
relations? Further along in the same table, we see that only 
23.6% of the teachers report that they divide a selection into 
thought units in memorizing, while a much larger number use 
such mechanical divisions as lines, sentences, or stanzas. Again, 
only about 11% reported that they pictured situations, i. e., ima- 
gined; 13% said they traced thought relations; and less than 
6% that they associated the ideas of the poem or chapter with 
known facts. More than one-fourth reported that in memoriz- 
ing they use cumulative repetition, i. e., the House-that-Jack- 
built order of procedure, going from line to line, then back again 
to the beginning for a fresh start. Wherever details are given 
explicitly enough to make the meaning clear, the mechanical 
side is seen to predominate. 

Some explanation may be needed for the heading in regard 
to the use of mechanical aids in memorizing. The people here 
listed depend upon the rhyme, the rhythm, the first words in 
successive lines, and other mechanical devices in committing to 
memory, rather than upon the sequence of ideas. It would be 
interesting to test how the ease wath which the people who mem- 
orize by thought units compares with the effort required by those 

1 See Appendix. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 55 

who depend upon the mechanical aspects alone in committing 
to memory. An expression might have been obtained from the 
two classes of people as to whether they find memorizing easy 
or difficult. Such statements would have value in connection 
with this report. 

Some explanation of the failure of so many pupils to work 
systematically and effectively may be seen in the fact that in 
stating the various things which they think ought to be done in 
" thinking about a lesson " (see Table V), not more than 33/^% 
of the teachers agreed upon any one item. There were at least 
twenty things mentioned which should be done, and the element 
considered most important was indicated by one-third of the 
writers. This was, " Find the important points " — a very neces- 
sary thing to do in studying, the strange part being that so few 
of the teachers felt its importance. A number of the other items 
given are either so general as to give no idea of what the 
writers really meant, or they are mechanical, e. g., apperceive, 
reason, understand the meaning, memorize. Only 15% felt 
keenly enough to mention it the necessity of finding the main 
thought or problem. The questions arise : If teachers do not feel 
the necessity of finding the problem sufficiently to speak of it 
in describing the process of study, will they be likely to think of 
it when working with pupils? Will not this lack in teachers ac- 
count for the failure of so many pupils to find the problem or 
leading thought of the lessons given them for study? If not 
more than 15% of the teachers mention it, could one expect more 
than 5% of the pupils to do so? (Between four and five per 
cent, of the pupils who wrote test A, spoke of finding the sub- 
ject or principal thought of the lesson.) 

If the corresponding items in Tables V and VI be added so 
as to get the ideas of the teachers who told what ought to be done 
in " thinking about a lesson," and of those who expressed their 
views as to what else should be done in studying a lesson, the 
factor advocated by the greatest number is mentioned by only 
52% of the writers. The twenty-six other items occurring in the 
tables are advocated by numbers ranging from nearly 39%, who 
spoke of understanding the lesson, down to about 1%, who men- 
tioned the need of drill to form habits. 



56 The Nature of Logical Study. 

Lack of clearness as to the process of studying. 

It is interesting to note how long a list of mental activities is 
given by the teachers in Tables V and VL Attention, interest, 
perception, apperception, imagination, memory, correlation, com- 
parison, and reason — these make up one-third of the separate 
items of these two tables, and tell a minimum as to what is really 
to be done. The large number of items, the indefiniteness of 
many of them, and the scattered per cents, show that these teach- 
ers do not clearly see the nature of study. No steps stand out 
strongly in the minds of a large number, but instead there is con- 
fusion of thought, and lack of agreement. 

The teachers who wrote this questionnaire were, for the most 
part, a selected proup, — for college students are usually so re- 
garded, and eighty-two per cent, were students in Teachers Col- 
ege. With very few exceptions all were experienced teachers, 
and all but twenty-six had taught in elementary schools. If these 
teachers, with their experience and advanced training, are as 
indefinite in their ideas about the process of studying as tables 
V and VI show them to be, the ideas of other teachers could 
hardly be expected to be more definite and practical. 

In answering the questions : Do you do any of the things men- 
tioned under i, 2, and 3, more frequently than the others? If 
so, which are they? the teachers limited the number of steps 
mentioned but still scattered their votes, showing the same fail- 
ure to recognize essential features. Twenty-four per cent., the 
highest number in the table, said they memorized more frequently 
than anything else; and as low a per cent, as appears, 1.2%, 
represents the number who recognized the importance of finding 
the aim or problem. One of the highest numbers in Table I, 
which shows the pupils' report of how they study, represents 
those who memorize to some extent ; and one of the low num- 
bers, though not the lowest, represents those who tried to find 
the principal thought or idea of the lesson — that which in Table 
VII corresponds to the aim or problem. A larger percentage of 
pupils than of teachers spoke of finding the main thought, of 
finding the important points in a lesson, and of supplementing the 
text. 

The fifth question answered by the teachers was : When you 
were a pupil in the elementary school, were you taught to use 
any of these steps or processes systematically? If so, which 



The Nature of Logical Study. 57 

ones? The listed answers are shown in Table VIIL^ Elimi- 
nating those who reported definitely that they were not taught, 
those who did not remember, and those whose answers were not 
relevant — nearly 65% of the teachers, there are 35% left who 
say they were systematically taught. 20.6%, much more than 
half of this remnant, were taught to memorize, while the factors 
of logical study are hardly recognized at all in this report. 

As might be expected from the preceding report, the answers 
to the sixth question added little or nothing to the impression 
already made by the teachers. This question reads : If you have 
taught in an elementary school, have you ever trained your pupils 
there to use any of these steps or processes ? If you have, which 
steps or processes were they? Eleven teachers, or 6.y% of the 
whole, frankly said no in answer to the question. 

The various factors of logical study appear in the answers to 
the sixth question (see Table IX ),^ but the numbers who say 
that they taught them are insignificant. The largest number 
taught their pupils to " understand the thought," whatever they 
may have meant by that; and teaching pupils to memorize ap- 
pears second in the list. However, not more than approximately 
one-third of the writers had taught any one factor out of the 
entire list of twenty-eight items. 

Summary of results of teachers' questionnaire. 

The questionnaire as a whole reveals that these teachers them- 
selves are lacking the proper conception of the process of higher 
study ; that they tend to exalt memorizing ; and that they do not 
as a class accord recognition to any factor or factors as being 
essential to study. In several instances, the factors which they 
have recognized to a considerable extent, were employed largely 
by the pupils in their studies ; and the factors which the teachers 
have overlooked in their reports were used but little by the pupils 
in their tests. 

A second means of investigating present procedure in teaching 
children to study. 
With the purpose of investigating still further the extent to 
which pupils are being taught to study in the higher sense of 



iSee Appendix. 
*See Appendix. 



58 The Nature of Logical Study. 

the word, seventy recitations were observed in various cities of 
the United States. During the year of 1905-06 a questiommire 
was sent out to a number of principals of schools.^ This ques- 
tionnaire was to be filled out by the principals after certain reci- 
tations had been observed. While information was desired mainly 
in regard to how the teachers treated the thought-content of the 
lesson in the assignment, what she expected the pupils to do with 
it in preparing the lesson, and how she disposed of it during 
the recitation period, the other items were added, not only to 
supplement the chief purpose, but also that they might prevent 
the main points from being so prominent that the report upon 
them would be more or less biased. 

At the time that this questionnaire was sent out, the writer 
was doing some experimental work with a fourth grade class in 
reading ; consequently, the principals were asked to observe read- 
ing classes in the intermediate department, including fourth, 
fifth and sixth grades. Reports were received from Duluth, 
Minn. ; Madison, Wis. ; Passaic, N. J. ; and Baltimore, Md. The 
writer visited a number of schools, both public and private, in 
New York City, and several classes in the public schools of 
Passaic, N. J. The subjects in which recitations were observed 
were reading, history, arithmetic, geography and language. 

The data obtained are tabulated according to subjects, and 
while there is much that is valuable in a recitation which is not 
susceptible of tabulation, for example, the spirit of the teacher, 
and the classroom atmosphere, still it is worth while to note 
some of the things done or left undone in the way of training 
pupils to work independently and logically. 

Observations of recitations in reading. 

Twenty-nine reading lessons were observed in nineteen classes 
from the third to the eighth grade inclusive, excepting the sev- 
enth grade. The facts in regard to the assignments and recita- 
tions are shown separately and are given in the accompanying 
classifications : 

iSee Appendix. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 59 

Assignment of Reading Lessons. 

Classes. Per ct. 

1. Total number 29 

2. No assignment made 2 6.9 

3. Assignment not observed 6 20.7 

4. Assignment of words to be studied 16 55-2 

5. Formal assignment (pages, paragraphs, or 

title of lesson indicated) 15 51.7 

6. Pupils told to prepare to give thought in their 

own words 6 20. 7 

7. Lesson discussed before class study 5 17.2 

8. Teacher assigned questions to be answered. . 3 10.3 

9. Pupils instructed to find topics or headings. . 3 10.3 

10. Allusions discussed or assigned 2 6.9 

11. Pupils directed to prepare to read lesson 

smoothly 2 6.9 

12. Class directed to find beautiful language. ... i 3.4 

Recitations of Reading Lessons. 

Recitations. Per ct. 

1. Lessons observed 29 

2. Oral reading (not based on study of 

thought in class) in 24 82 . 7 

3. Class supplemented (explained, imagined, 

questioned, referred to other articles), in 16 

4. Teacher asked questions " 15 

5. Words studied " 12 

6. Lesson reproduced orally " 6 

7. Class exercised initiative " 9 

8. Class discussion " 5 

9. Oral reading (based on study of thought 

in class) in 3 

10. Children made outline of lesson " 2 

Nature of the lesson assignments in the classes in reading. 

A fact not shown by these classifications is that in more than 
fifty per cent, of the classes observed, the entire assignment con- 
sisted of giving the class a certain number of pages to read, 
giving out a lesson by its title, and either drilling upon words or 
else assigning word-study as part of the lesson. There was no 



55. 


,2 


51' 


■7 


41. 


.4 


20, 


■7 


31 




17 


,2 


10 


•3 


6 


■9 



6o The Nature of Logical Study. 

preparation in these classes, no development or statement of an 
aim, and no directions whatever as to the treatment of the thought 
of the lesson. 

In about 7% of the classes no assignment was made at all, 
the pupils reading at sight; and in about 20% of the classes, no 
assignment was observed. In about iy% of the classes, there 
was a talk about the lesson preparatory to its assignment, but 
this talk did not prepare for independent and systematic study 
of the lesson. No aim was put before the pupils which required 
any use of the thought contained in the lessons and the pupils 
were left to a more or less desultory reading of the story. These 
lessons were not even assigned for the sake of the language, since 
not one of the teachers called attention to the form in which the 
thought was expressed. It is a matter of interest to know whether 
teachers who make such assignments can give a good reason why 
they teach reading in their classes. 

In a third grade, the pupils were told to find a good subject 
or name for a certain story which they were to read. In an 
eighth grade, after a preliminary study of Washington's Farezvell 
Address, the teacher told the class to " Find what points Wash- 
ington gives for unity." In these two classes only did the pre- 
liminary work send the pupils to their study with an aim to be 
accomplished through mastery of the thought of the lesson. Only 
these pupils were required to organize material, and select or 
reject ideas according to the purpose to be accomplished. 

Only 10% of the teachers assigned questions to be answered. 
No report was made as to the nature of the questions in two 
lessons. In the third lesson, the questions dealt with the thought 
of successive sentences without any differentiation of values, and 
therefore gave no aid in teaching pupils to study discriminatingly 
and independently. 

Summary of assignments. 

To sum up the assignments briefly, in but three of the recita- 
tions observed, that is in about 10% of the whole number of read- 
ing lessons observed, were the classes given such a preparation 
for the study of the lesson that the pupils could go to their 
work intelligently, and with the prospect of doing effective study- 
ing. For the most part, the work was desultory or formal, and 
led nowhere in particular. It contributed nothing to the forma- 



The Nature of Logical Study. 6i 

tion of right habits of study in the pupils belonging to the classes, 
save in the two classes specially mentioned where the pupils 
were to find a subject, or were to organize the material of the 
lesson. This neglect of thoughtful assignments was not due to 
lack of thoughtful material upon which to work. The subject 
matter employed included The Great Stone Face, Evangeline, 
King Philip, Shakspeare, and The English Slave Boys in Rome, 
and other good selections for study, but all were equally neg- 
lected. 

The recitations in reading. 

Turning to the tabulated results of the observations of the 
recitation periods of these reading classes, we see that approxi- 
mately 82% of the classes read orally without previous attention 
to the thought of the lesson in the recitation period. In not one 
of these instances had the thought been studied in the assignment 
of the lesson, so that these twenty-four lessons contributed noth- 
ing to the gaining of knowledge or skill in the use of right ways 
of mastering thought. 

Questioning in the reading recitations. 

In more than 50% of the recitations, the teacher asked ques- 
tions, while the pupils questioned in less than one-seventh of the 
classes, — surely not a general display of initiative on the part of 
the pupils ; though, as has been shown in chapter IV, pupils can 
ask excellent questions. The teachers' questions, moreover, dealt 
with small points to a great extent. In but three recitations 
could they be considered large, and what might be called thought- 
provoking. " Why was Shakespeare considered great ?" " What 
is the main thought of the paragraph you have read?" These 
were among the strong questions asked. For the most part the 
teachers asked about words and phrases, and isolated, unim- 
portant facts and thoughts selected here and there from the 
lessons. These questions did not require comparison, selection, 
grouping, or testing to any great degree save in the three classes 
just cited. 

Supplementary material in the reading classes. 

No attempt was made in these recitations to guide the in- 
terests of the children, or to give them any training in seeking 



62 The Nature of Logical Study. 

and using supplementary material. No books were used save 
the reading books containing the lessons assigned, and no in- 
dividual reference work was given to any pupil. There was thus 
little opportunity to judge of the relevancy and reliability of ad- 
ditional data, and no training whatever in finding and arranging 
material bearing upon the lesson. 

The study of words. 

In 41% of the recitations, words were studied, but only one 
class attempted to find the meanings of puzzling words by the 
use of the context. In a few instances, pupils tried to find the 
meaning of the word they needed by using another in its place. 
.These pupils had a good basis for judging of the value of the 
meaning when found and were learning to be independent. 

The exercise of initiative in reading classes. 

In the five recitations in which class discussion took place, the 
pupils talked freely about points in the story, criticized each 
other's recitations, checked any tendency to wander from the 
point, decided upon the place in a story where dramatization 
might well begin, and, in general, added greatly to the value of 
the work in hand, besides gaining practice in seeing and solving 
difficulties in reading, and in estimating the relevancy and worth 
of their own recitations, x^ll this work involved initiative on the 
part of the pupils and it is in place here to mention other mani- 
festations of this trait in the recitations observed. In the classes 
where it was permitted or encouraged, pupils asked for mean- 
ings of words which they needed ; also, for explanations of state- 
ments. They even questioned the statements of the text, and cor- 
rected the recitations of their mates. They not only held each 
other to the point under discussion, but were ready to render 
needed assistance in mastering words and thoughts. They asked 
readers to " speak louder," and took difi^erent seats so as to 
hear better. Discussion, questioning by pupils, and other forms 
of initiative were seen in nine classes, or 31%, of all the classes 
observed. 

Summary of observations of recitations in reading. 

In summing up these observations, it may be said that only 
two teachers of the whole number visited seemed to have definite 



The Nature of Logical Study. 63 

ideas about training the pupils in right ways of studying. In 
all other classes, there was but little done to give the pupils such 
training and that little was apparently incidental rather than defin- 
itely anticipated. 

t 
Observations of classes in history. 

Five lesson assignments in sixth grade history were observed, 
and three recitations, the two exercises being separated in time. 
The results can be shown briefly. 

1. Total number of classes observed 5 

Classes. Per ct 

2. Lesson assigned by subject 4 80 

3. Lesson assigned by pages or paragraphs 2 40 

4. Pupils directed to references i 20 

5. Pupils directed to ask questions i 20 

6. Pupils directed to read lesson i 20 

7. Pupils directed to read smoothly i 20 

The recitations in history. 

Only one of the five teachers observed conducted the recita- 
tion period in such a way as to exercise the pupils in logical 
study. Her pupils chose the title for the lesson, which they had 
been reading not only in the school texts but in references ob- 
tained from the city library. They dictated an outline of the 
lesson to the teacher which the latter wrote on the board. They 
criticized each other's selection of subject, and the arrangement 
of topics. After a lively oral recitation, they wrote a vigorous 
account of the subject discussed, following the outline which they 
had made. There was good work done in good spirit, and in a 
systematic way. None of the other recitations included any work 
of this nature, but were rather a re-rendering of the book narra- 
tive. One class dramatized the lesson successfully. 

Observations of classes in arithmetic. 

Fourteen arithmetic classes were visited, though in eight of 
them no assignment was seen as the practice seemed to be to 
make the assignment at some separate period. Of the six assign- 
ments observed, three were entirely formal, three required pupils 
to form problems, and in two cases individual assignments were 
made to certain pupils. 



64 The Nature of Logical Study. 

Thirteen recitations were observed, of which 69% were formal 
drill exercises. In 7y% of the classes, the teacher asked all 
questions and in 69% of them, she gave all the problems. In 
five classes, the teacher developed a new topic, but in only two 
of these classes did the pupils question. But two classes, or 
about 15% of all observed, attempted to form problems. In 
but one class did the pupils correct the errors made by the 
class, and only one class prepared an outline of the topic studied. 
The teachers were, as a rule, the very prominent centres of all 
the work, and the pupils exercised but little initiative, and did 
next to nothing in the way of systematic, independent mastery of 
the topics included in their arithmetic. 

Observations of classes in geography. 

The geography observations were of special interest, since geo- 
graphy was the subject used for the tests. Fifteen classes were 
observed, twelve of them being classes which had written the 
tests. Only the observations upon these twelve are reported, so 
as to show whether the class procedure throws light upon the 
work done in tests. In the assignments, the following are the 
facts : 

1. Total classes visited 12 

Classes. Per ct. 

2. Number of assignments not observed 7 58.3 

3. Number of assignments by pages 2 16.7 

4. Number of assignments by subject 2 16.7 

5. Number of times teacher gave questions i 8.3 

The recitations showed these details: 

1. Total number of classes visited 12 

Classes. Per ct. 

2. Number of drill or review exercises 4 33 

3. Number of times teacher gave outline 3 25 

4. Number of times pupils found topics i 8.3 

5. Number of memory recitations observed. ... i 8.3 

6. Number of times teacher supplemented text. i 8.3 

7. Number of times pupils supplemented text. . i 8.3 

8. Number of times pupils reasoned or explained 5 41.7 

9. Number of times teacher questioned 9 75 

10. Number of recitations not observed 2 16 



The Nature of Logical Study. 65 

Summary of observations of classes in geography. 

These observations, like most of the others, reveal the teacher 
doing nearly all of the work, and very little initiative or oppor- 
tunity for independent, constructive work left to the pupils. In 
not a single class did the pupils question or participate in dis- 
cussion. It is hardly possible that not one of the classes ob- 
served was studying subject matter interesting enough to sug- 
gest some problem to the pupils, or to be worthy of class con- 
sideration. In but one class did the pupils organize the material 
of the lesson, and in only one did they add anything to the 
text. The factors of logical study were almost totally lacking 
in all these classes, though the subject studied is full of oppor- 
tunities for their employment. The resume of visits is a strong 
indication of the reason why the classes writing tests made so 
little display of any knowledge of the steps in logical study. 

Observations of recitations in latiguage. 

The remaining observations were made in classes where lan- 
guage was being studied. The subject was formal, and gave little 
opportunity for logical study. It was rather an exercise in cor- 
rect forms, and in the formation of taste. However, the assign- 
ments and recitations are hereby summarized : 

Observations of Language Lessons. 

1. Number of classes observed 7 

Classes. Per ct. 

2. Number of assignments not observed 4 55-6 

3. Selection assigned for study 3 42.9 

4. Teacher gave questions to be studied i 14.3 

5. Teacher and pupils prepared an outline i 14.3 

6. Pupils required to write composition i 14,3 

7. Preliminary class work i 14.3 

Recitation of Language Lessons. 

Classes. Per ct. 

1. Recitations not observed i 14.3 

2. Oral or written reproduction 2 28 . 6 

3. Review i 14.3 

4. Written composition i 14.3 

5. Sentential analysis i 14.3 

5 



66 The Nature of Logical Study. 

Classes. Per ct. 

6. Class discussion and criticism 4 55.6 

7. All questions asked by teacher 3 42.9 

8. Pupils questioned i 14-3 

9. Pupils explained or gave reasons 2 28 . 6 

10, Teacher gave outlines i 14-3 

11. Pupils prepared outlines i 14.3 

Some of the freest, strongest work seen in all the classes vis- 
ited was in connection with two of these language classes. One 
class of boys argued pro and con with a will in regard to some 
point in technical grammar, and the teacher was wise enough to 
keep them to the point and leave them free to work out their 
problem. In one class in written composition, there was hearty 
co-operation on the part of the pupils in preparing the resume of 
the material which was to serve as a guide in writing. There 
was free and friendly criticism of pupils' work by other pupils, 
and suggestions of value were offered. This teacher, too, was 
wise enough to direct the efforts and keep the class working 
profitably while working freely. 

Summary of questionnaire and observations. 

In completing this chapter, in which have been discussed the 
pupils' great need of knowing how to study, the teachers' ideals 
of proper study, and the observations of recitations, the conclu- 
sion is forced upon us that, although pupils possess ability to em- 
ploy the various factors of proper study, the teachers lack a 
clear conception of what such study is. The teachers who wrote 
the questionnaire do not themselves employ these factors to any 
great extent ; and the teachers observed in the class rooms 
are not training their pupils to use them. The teacher is the 
center and moving power in nearly all of the work, and the re- 
quirements laid upon the pupils involve mechanical effort to a 
large degree. The aim of the work as a whole seems to be the 
mastery of subject matter; the development of the power to work 
independently, intelligently, and economically is almost entirely 
ignored. The teachers do not know of what such study con- 
sists and consequently give little thought to its cultivation. They 
would probably do so if they had definite ideas as to its nature, 
for they are frequently heard to lament the fact that their pupils 
do not know how to study, or to think. 



CHAPTER VI 

Can Pupils in the Elementary School Be Taught to Study 
Systematically 

The attempt to train pupils in the use of the factors of logical 
study. 

In Chapter IV the statement was made that part of the classes 
tested in both the sixth and seventh grades were trained in the 
use of the factors of higher study between the first and second 
series of tests, the idea being to discover what difference such 
training would produce in the results of the second series. It 
must be stated frankly that the conditions governing this at- 
tempted training were far from ideal. Two of the five classes 
trained in the sixth grade, and three of the four classes trained 
in the seventh grade were in schools of practice where the pupils 
were not under the care of one teacher continuously ; but were 
taught by pupil teachers or special teachers part of the time. 
Under such circumstances, the influence and training of even a 
strong teacher, would not have full opportunity to produce their 
effect, and not all of these teachers were strong, either in their 
mental grasp or their teaching ability. At least two were very 
weak. 

Then, too, with but one exception, not one of the teachers of 
these classes had attended the lectures in which Professor Mc- 
Murry advanced the theory of systematic study, so that they 
lacked both the lectures, and the accompanying discussions of 
them by experienced teachers. They were taught the theory of 
study at second hand by those who had attended this class, and 
an interval of three months was a short period for them to learn 
the theory and then apply it to classes with sufficient success to 
produce marked results. 

To add to the difficulty, there was almost no literature on the 
subject to put into their hands to help them in understanding 
the theory and its requirements, and there were no schools prac- 
tising the theory which could be observed and used as guides. 
A copy of a paper read by Professor F. M. McMurry before 
the Department of Superintendence of the National Educational 



68 The Nature of Logical Study. 

Association in Louisville, Ky., in March, 1906, on the subject, 
" Some suggestions for the improvement of the study period," 
was sent to each teacher who undertook the training work. In 
addition, a copy was sent of the theoretical discussion of the 
steps in systematic study which was part of an essay on " The 
study of the reading lesson in the fourth grade," submitted 
by the writer in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the 
degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Philosophy, Columbia 
University, in May, 1906. 

Under the compulsion of circumstances the work of training 
was undertaken even with such adverse conditions, and the cour- 
age and good will of the school teachers and school principals 
who aided in the task are gratefully recognized. 

If the training of the pupils was successful, the percentage of 
pupils in the trained classes who used the factors of logical study 
in writing the second series ought to be greater than the per- 
centage who used them in the first series ; and the number of 
trained pupils who wrote indefinite, general, or irrelevant an- 
swers should be lower in the second series than in the first. 
An examination of the results of test A, given in Table I of 
the Appendix, shows that the changes are not always in the di- 
rection of greater proficiency for the trained classes, though even 
under adverse conditions, they excelled in a number of particu- 
lars. 

Of the answers which are sufficiently definite to show what 
the pupils did in studying, those which approach nearest to higher 
study are in regard to finding the subject, finding the important 
points, verifying the statements, and supplementing the lesson. 

Comparison of grades in regard to finding the subject. 

In the first series, 1.3% of the pupils in the untrained sixth 
grades spoke of finding the subject. In the second series, 3.1% 
of them spoke of it. The corresponding per cents, for the trained 
sixth grades were 0%, and 0.9%. These results have little 
significance. The pupils of the untrained seventh grades at- 
tained 5.4% and 0.9% in the two tests, while the trained seventh 
grades scored 3.5% and 20% in them. These results show a de- 
cided contrast which greatly favors the grades which were 
trained. The seventh grades not trained made a decided loss, 
while the trained grades gained 16.5%. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 69 

Organization of the subject matter. 

The results in regard to finding the important points, or or- 
ganizing the subject matter, are even more favorable to the 
classes which were trained. The per cents, made by the un- 
trained sixth grades were 9.6% and 24.8% for the first and sec- 
ond series. The trained sixth grades scored only 3.6% in the 
first series, but rose to 20.7% in the second one — a greater gain 
both relatively and absolutely than the gain made by the other 
group. The untrained seventh grades made 31.8^ in the first 
series, but went down to 21% in the second. The trained 
classes, on the contrary, went from 21.2% in the first series to 
55.3% in the second, a gain of 34.1% — a very significant ad- 
vance. 

Verification of statements. 

There were not enough instances of verification of the state- 
ments of the text to make the comparison of results of signifi- 
cance. The gains and losses in this particular can be seen in 
Table L 

Supplementing the lesson. 

In supplementing the lesson, the untrained sixth grades went 
from 30.8% in the first series to 40.8% in the second, making a 
gain of 10%. The trained classes of the same grade went from 
30.6% in the first test to 46% in the second. They made about 
the same per cent, as the other classes in the first series but made 
a gain of 16% in the second series, a balance of 6% in their 
favor over the other classes. In the first series, the untrained 
seventh grades scored 24.5% ; in the second, they scored 64.5%, 
an absolute gain of 40%. The trained seventh grades recorded 
22.3% in the first test, and rose to 51.8%, an absolute gain of 
29.5%. They did not nearly equal the untrained grades in this 
part of their study, though they excelled in their ideas about 
finding the subject of the lesson, and in finding the important 
points in a lesson. 

In the items which show formality, indefiniteness, or irrele- 
vancy in the pupils' ideas of study, the per cents, do not always 
stand in favor of the trained classes, but sometimes show a 
balance against them. Under the headings, " Concentrated at- 
tention," " Memorized." " Studied the lesson," and " Answer ir- 



70 The Nature of Logical Study. 

relevant," the results are favorable to both the sixth and seventh 
grades which were trained. The results under the headings, 
" Thought : tried to understand," and " Did not understand," 
are adverse to one of the grades trained, but not to both. The 
results in regard to writing facts stand to the disadvantage of 
both trained grades. The other items are either too small in 
the numbers represented to be of significance, or are of dubious 
interpretation and may or may not be desirable in proper study. 
The advantage on the whole, as shown by test A, is with the 
trained classes. 

The improvement of the classes not trained. 

It would have been surprising if the untrained classes had not 
made improvement in their ways of working during the three 
months which intervened between the two series of tests, for sev- 
eral of the teachers of these classes were women of great ability 
as teachers, and were keen enough intellectually to gain much 
profit from the first series of tests, even though they did not 
know a second series was to be given later. They saw how help- 
less many of the pupils were under the requirements of the tests, 
and saw, also, hints for betterment of conditions. There is also 
the possibility that some of the pupils may have been roused to 
better effort by the first tests, though it is much more probable 
that it w^as the teacher who profited, and who in turn influenced 
the procedure of the pupils. 

Comparison of the results of test C. 

The results of test C, given in Table II, show no great im- 
provement or advantage for the trained or untrained pupils of 
either grade. The test in the second series for the seventh grade 
was so decidedly different in character from the corresponding 
one in the first series, that in some of the steps of study, com- 
parisons would be unjustifiable. For example, the first test was 
a book test and called for the use of textbooks. To have used 
textbooks in the second test would have been out of place. The 
seventh grades which were trained made a better record than the 
untrained ones in six of the eleven items of test C. They failed 
to do as well in four particulars, and made an equal record with 
them in the increased per cent, of those who said they would 
ask for information when writing the second series. Unfortun- 



The Nature of Logical Study. 71 

ately, the trained seventh grades fell off decidedly in the second 
test in the adequacy of the steps proposed to solve the problem. 
Much that the pupils proposed to do was doubtless very good, 
but it was not sufficient to meet the conditions of the problem. 
For example, in deciding which candidate to vote for, more than 
thirty pupils, some trained, some untrained, said they would in- 
vestigate one candidate. Usually that would be only half enough 
for the solution of the problem. 

In test C, the trained sixth grades gained over the others in 
seven particulars, including adequacy ; fell behind the untrained 
grades in two factors; and in regard to two items named, i. e., 
the asking for information and the preparing of questions, the 
gain or loss is conditioned by other factors. For example, if a 
pupil did nothing but ask questions and gave no hint as to what 
he would do with them, his answer could not be considered satis- 
factory. 

The trained sixth grades made a relatively better showing in 
test C than did the trained seventh grades, and the two grades 
which had been trained, made a better record on the whole than 
the untrained ones. 

The record was improved sometimes by obtaining a higher 
per cent, in the second test than in the first, and sometimes the 
gain in judgment was shown by a lowering of the per cent, in 
the second trial. For example, a lowering of the per cent, under 
the heading Inadequate meant gain ; but under the heading Ade- 
quate the gain was indicated by an increased per cent, in the 
second test. When both trained and untrained classes lowered 
their percentage in the second test, the advantage was considered 
as belonging to the group which had lowered it to a lesser degree 
than the other. It might have been that the second test was 
more difficult than the first one. and in that case, the grade 
which suft"ered least because of the increased difficulty was con- 
sidered the stronger. 

Comparison of the trained and untrained groups in test E. 

A comparison of the relative abilities of the trained and un- 
trained grades as shown by Table III, which contains a state- 
ment of the facts given in test E, shows that the trained sixth 
grades were stronger in their practical work than the untrained 
sixth grades. They were stronger, also, than the trained seventh 



"J 2 The Nature of Logical Study. 

grades. Comparisons were made only as to the adequacy of the 
subjects found, the adequacy of the Hsts of topics, the abiHty to 
find a large topic or thought, the adequacy of the reasons given, 
the number whose questions called for reasons, and the number 
whose questions were not clear. Comparisons were not made as 
to the number who gave relevant facts, because not only ability 
but knowledge is involved in that report. The trained sixth 
grades excelled the untrained in keeping near to their first record 
for adequacy in the subject found, in gain in adequacy of lists, 
in gain in selecting the large point, in holding nearer to the first 
record in adequacy of reasoning, in gain in clearness of expres- 
sion, and in the increased number who asked questions involving 
reasoning. In the use of all these steps in practical activity in 
studying, the trained sixth grades as a whole excelled the un- 
trained grades as a whole. 

The trained seventh grades excelled the untrained ones in the 
second test in keeping near their records for finding an adequate 
subject and for choosing adequate lists of topics ; also in the 
increased number who asked questions involving reasoning about 
the lesson. The records for the untrained grades are better 
than for the trained grades in the other activities compared. 

Summary of comparisons of trained and untrained groups. 

The three tests show that on the whole the trained sixth grades 
made a better record in the second series than the untrained sixth 
grades. The trained seventh grades excelled the other seventh 
grades in finding the subject and in selecting the main points of 
the lesson both in test A and test E, but their record as a whole 
was not as strong as that of the trained sixth grades. It is doubt- 
ful whether, save in the two particulars mentioned, which are 
both very important, their record was any better than that of the 
untrained seventh grades. 

An experiment in teaching pupils to study a reading lesson. 

Confirmatory evidence of the ability of pupils in the elementary 
school to study may be seen in the results obtained from a read- 
ing class in the fourth grade in the Speyer School, the school 
of practice of Teachers College. A series of sixteen lessons was 
given by the writer to this class in the spring of 1906, to deter- 
mine whether the pupils of the fourth grade possess the ability to 



The Nature of Logical Study. 73 

employ the steps in logical study, and whether they can be taught 
to use them independently and habitually. The lesson periods 
were from twenty-five to thirty minutes long and there was no 
study period. The text used for reading was a version of the 
Odyssey edited by Mrs. Lida B. McMurry. 

About three weeks before the experiment began, the regular 
teacher of the grade had begun to give the pupils opportunity to 
ask questions about the thought of the lesson after it had been 
read orally. She had tried, also, to have the pupils use synonyms 
for certain words occurring in the lesson, these being selected by 
her. The children responded freely in the matter of questioning, 
but seemed not to feel the need of synonyms and so were not 
successful with them. 

In the first lessons, the teacher (the writer) helped the pupils 
with difficult words, and proposed the topic or aim for the new 
lesson. She also tried to secure recognition of the important 
parts of the lesson in their order by asking the pupils what part 
of the story they would tell first, what part next, etc., but it was 
hard work for the pupils. The main points were given slowly 
and with difficulty, and were poorly worded. 

The early recitations showed that the pupils responded with in- 
terest to the subject matter, and that they desired information in 
regard to many things, these frequently being facts which the 
editor had omitted. They were ready to pass judgment as to 
character, as for example, when they commended Nausicaa's act 
of kindness to Ulysses. But these lessons showed, also, that the 
pupils needed to look for the problems in the story ; that they 
needed training in analysis and organization of the material ; in 
making out the pronunciation and meaning of words, and in 
thinking out the meaning of sentences. The teacher found, too, 
that she needed to eliminate herself more thoroughly, and throw 
more responsibility upon the class. 

In the third lesson the pupils were asked to suggest ways for 
finding out the meaning of words needed in reading. Various 
means were presented, and at last the class decided to try to use 
another word in the place of the word not understood. After 
that lesson, they took care of meanings themselves, asking to 
have a word substituted for the word which they could not under- 
stand. They grew very critical, refusing definitions and explana- 
tions, and objecting to words whose substitution did not bring 



74 The Nature of Logical Study. 

understanding or satisfaction. They would say, " You did not 
do what I asked you," and more than once a pupil was told to 
sit down because his answer was not what had been asked for. 
They were attempting to satisfy needs, and were very discrimin- 
ating in their judgment about words. The previously felt diffi- 
culty about synonyms disappeared whenever the need of such 
words was felt. 

At the same time that the pupils were thrown upon their own 
responsibility for the meaning of words, ways and means were 
discussed for pronouncing new words, and that phase of the 
work was also given over to the class. In regard to phrases and 
sentences, they decided they could help themselves by reading 
farther, by trying to think it out, and by asking themselves ques- 
tions. 

The first lesson showed that the pupils were not able to divide 
the lesson into parts. In the fourth lesson, they were asked to 
think of a good name for a certain part of the story and to write 
these names on paper. Out of a class of twenty, one began to 
write the story, and two or three did nothing. A few were ab- 
sent. The rest gave the following list, which is a great gain 
over the first lesson : 

Ulysses meets Nausicaa. 

When Ulysses meets Nausicaa. 

Ulysses and Nausicaa. 

Ulysses speaking to Nausicaa. 

Nausicaa meets the stranger which is Ulysses. 

Ulysses. 

Ulysses gets food and drink. 

Ulysses goes to town. 

Nausicaa clothes Ulysses. 

A few others similar to these were given. 
Towards the close of the series of lessons, after the pupils had 
read the booklet of eight pages entitled, Penelope and Telemachus 
during Ulysses' Absence, they were asked to name in order the 
things they would talk about if they were telling the story to 
some one at home. They gave the following outline very 
promptly : 

The princes wish to marry Penelope. 
Penelope deceives the princes. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 75 

Telemachus holds a council. 

Telemachus goes to inquire about Ulysses. 

Telemachus visits Nestor. 

Telemachus visits Menelaus. 

The suitors making ready to kill Telemachus. 

Penelope hears of Telemachus' absence. 

Both the nature of the topics and the readiness with which they 
were given are evidence of gain on the part of the pupils in 
the ability to discover and express the important thoughts in the 
subject matter. 

Stating the aim. 

Three booklets were read by the class, namely, Ulysses among 
the PhaeacianSj Penelope and Telemachus during Ulysses' Ab- 
sence, and Ulysses at Home Again. When the first booklet was 
begun, the teacher stated the aim for the book. Before taking up 
the second booklet, the pupils were asked what questions they 
might expect to find answered in it. Here are the questions sug- 
gested by the class : " What does Ulysses do when he gets 
home?" " Did he see his wife again?" " Did he have any more 
troubles ?" " Did Penelope and Telemachus have any troubles ?" 
When the third and last booklet was reached, the children were 
asked what questions they would like to have answered in the 
rest of the story. They asked so many questions and asked 
them so rapidly that it was impossible to write them all. " Did 
Ulysses reach his home safely ?" " Did he kill the suitors ?" 
" Did the suitors kill him ?" " Did they kill Telemachus ?" " Did 
Penelope marry any of the suitors?" These are some of the 
questions asked. It is apparent that the teacher did not need to 
state any aim, since the pupils had furnished such an abundance 
of them. 

Supplementing the text. 

The lessons showed the readiness of the pupils to supplement 
the text, to question the meaning, and to form judgments of 
their own. One example of their filling out and explaining 
situations was afforded by the answers to the question of a child 
who asked, " How did Ulysses know that Nausicaa was the 
daughter of a king? He had never seen her before." The fol- 



yd The Nature of Logical Study. 

lowing replies were given : ( i ) " Because she stayed, although 
the maidens ran away." (2) " Because she had mules." (3) 
" Because she had maids." (4) " Maybe she had nice clothes." 
(5) " Maybe she wore a band of gold on her head." At another 
time, a child asked, " Why did the suitors want to marry Penel- 
ope ?" One little girl gave in substance this reply : " Because 
she was gentle and kind, and was not lazy, but looked after the 
house. She could spin, and could weave beautiful cloth. She 
could do her own washing." It was interesting to notice the 
practical nature of the answer and the fact that the beauty of 
Penelope was not mentioned as an attraction. 

Forming tentative judgments. 

Among other things which the pupils tried to explain in answer 
to the questions of their mates were the facts that Ulysses asked 
Nausicaa for poor garments ; that Alcinous, when sending Ulysses 
home to Ithaca, put the presents intended for him under the 
benches of the boat ; and that Penelope did not want to marry 
any of the suitors. One boy thought Ulysses asked for poor 
clothes with the idea that when he reached the city he could do 
odd jobs and earn money to buy good clothes. Several had the 
idea that the reason the gifts were placed under the benches was 
because the youths convoying Ulysses to Ithaca were dishonest. 
One girl was quite sure that the reason why Penelope did not 
choose one of the suitors was because she was afraid of Ulysses. 
In each case, the pupils were asked how they could probably find 
out whether their ideas were correct. They said that they might 
do so by reading more of the story. Each time, as they came to 
that part of the text which proved them to be mistaken, they 
made the application themselves. 

Independent systematic study. 

When the last booklet in the story of Ulysses was taken up, 
there was time for but one lesson with the class, so that results 
had to be hurried somewhat. The pupils had already stated the 
questions to be answered and these constituted the aims in read- 
ing this section. They were told to read through the entire 
booklet of eight pages silently, then to make a list of the im- 
portant subjects in it, to write any questions which they would 
like to have answered, and any words in place of which they 



The Nature of Logical Study. 77 

would like to have other words used. These papers were written 
by the pupils with no help whatever save in regard to spelling, 
use of capital letters, and punctuation. Some of the papers are 
here reported just as they were written. 

ROSE. 

1. Ulysses awakens. 

2. The swineherd gives food to Ulysses. 

3. Telemachus goes to the swineherd's house. 

4. Ulysses tells Telemachus that he is his beloved father. 

5. Ulysses dines with Telemachus, and the swineherd. 

6. Telemachus goes to town to see his mother. 

7. Telemachus tells Penelope what had happened when he was 
away. 

8. Ulysses goes to the palace as a beggar. 

9. Penelope hears of the shameful treatment. 

10. Ulysses tells Penelope what he had heard from Ulysses not 
long ago. 

11. The nurse gives Ulysses a bath. 

12. The nurse fells (feels) Ulysses scar. 

13. Ulysses kills the suitors. 

14. Telemachus and Ulysses goes to the house of Laertes. 

15. Ulysses reigned over Ithaca as beloved as before. 

Why did Ulysses kill the suitors, why did he not send them 
away? 

Why did Ulysses go to town as a beggar, why did he not show 
himself ? 

Why didn't Ulysses tell the swineherd he was his master? 
Why did Telemachus and Ulysses store the weapons in the 
inner rooms? 

Why don't Ulysses tell Penelope that he was Ulysses instead 
of telling her that he has fought by Ulysses' side? 

Why did Ulysses sleep, why did he not wake up and go to 
town? 

Why did Ulysses go to the house of Laertes ? 
scrip 
revels 
threatened 
dole 



78 The Nattire of Logical Study. 

EARL. 

1. Ulysses awakes. 

2. Ulysses and the swineherd. 

3. Ulysses meets Telemachus again. 

4. Penelope and Telemachus. 

5. Penelope and the beggar. 

6. The nurse recognizes Ulysses. 

7. Penelope gives a contest. 

8. Ulysses tries the bow. 

9. The death of the suitors. 

10. Ulysses rules over Ithaca again. 

Why did Ulysses go to the swineherd? 

Why did Ulysses beg for his bread? 

Why didn't Ulysses tell Penelope that he was her husband? 

Why did Telemachus go to the house of Laertes ? 

procured treachery rumor 

scrip abusive adjourned 

thong bower covenant 

revels combat reigned 

Several papers were prepared which were quite equal to Earl's 
and some might be considered better. The rest would grade in 
excellence from these down to the following one prepared by a 
boy who had been in class only two or three days when the exer- 
cises was given: 

1. When Ulysses wakened from his sleep. 

2. He bought from a sheapherd a ragged dirty clock (cloak). 

3. He went to visit the swineheard. 

4. As she bathed his feet she touched the scar. 

This series of lessons showed plainly that pupils in the fourth 
grade are capable of finding problems for themselves, of organ- 
izing the lesson, of asking intelligent questions, of forming sen- 
sible hypotheses, of exercising judgment as to the statements 
made by the author, of mastering formal difficulties for them- 
selves, and, in various ways, of exercising initiative wisely and 
profitably. It shows, too, that when pupils work in such a way 
they work with zeal, and accomplish much more than is done 



The Nature of Logical Study. 79 

when they must spend time upon useless details and mechani- 
cal methods of working. 

Conclusions based upon tests and experiments. 

The fourth grade was selected for these tests because it is 
usually the lowest grade in the intermediate department of the 
elementary schools, and it was thought that whatever abilities 
such pupils possess might reasonably be looked for to at least 
as great a degree in all of the intermediate and grammar grades. 
The results of this series of lessons, coupled with the results of 
the tests in geography given to the sixth and seventh grades, 
indicate strongly that pupils in the elementary schools in grades 
including the fourth as well as higher classes, are able not only 
to employ the factors of logical study, but also that by means of 
systematic efforts, they can be made to improve in their employ- 
ment of them. Whether the use of the factors or steps can be 
made habitual is another problem, as is also the length of time 
required for such results, and the methods to be employed in 
securing them. The economy of time and effort which can be 
accomplished by their use ; the effect of their employment upon 
the so-called dull or stupid pupils ; their influence upon school- 
room procedure and discipline — all these problems await solu- 
tion. One thing is sure, when these factors are recognized by 
the teacher and used by the class, the centre of gravity, of which 
Professor Dewey speaks, will no longer lie outside of the child. 
Growth in right ways of working, in ability to recognize and 
master problems, and to acquire knowledge will share part of the 
emphasis now attached almost exclusively to the acquisition of 
facts. 

The use of the factors of study by pupils will bring attending 
difficulties in the tendency to question unimportant matters, to 
dwell long on trifles, and, in general, to fail to distinguish between 
the essential and non-essential. All such difficulties will need 
facing and solving, just as other problems must be met and solved ; 
but to meet them by refusing all initiative, all freedom, all in- 
dependence of effort in pupils, is to sacrifice the pupils to the 
problem. There is no solution in such a procedure. It is be- 
lieved that when there is a clear understanding of the nature of 
proper study, and a thoughtful attempt to train pupils in its use, 
many of the difficulties which at first seem great, will prove to 



8o The Nature of Logical Study. 

have little reality, or will be eliminated by adjustment in the 
course of experience in teaching the method. 

There is a wide field for experiment in connection with the 
problem of teaching pupils how to study independently and sys- 
tematically, and it is hoped that many of the people most vitally 
concerned, that is, the teachers of classes in the elementary 
schools, will take up the matter thoughtfully and earnestly and 
give it a thorough, unbiased trial. By so doing, they can make a 
valuable contribution to the cause of education. 



APPENDIX 



FIRST SERIES 
Test A, Sixth Grade 

Here is a lesson from a book such as you use in class. Do whatever 
you think you ought to do in studying this lesson thoroughly, and then tell 
(write down) the different things you have done in studying it. Do not 
write anything else. 

"Northern Africa. — The African side of the Mediterranean sea, being 
so close to Asia and Europe, has long been settled by the white race. 
Many of the inhabitants are Arabs, who, being believers in Mohammed, 
still make pilgrimages to Mecca in Arabia, like other followers of that 
prophet. 

"The best known country in this section is Egypt, and CAIRO, its 
capital, is the largest city in Africa, being about twice the size of New 
Orleans. ALEXANDRIA is the chief Egyptian port. 

"Most of Egypt is a desert country, like Arabia on the one side and 
the Sahara Desert on the other. The Nile River flows through this 
desert, and every year the heavy floods from the mountains of Abyssinia 
and the forest country near the Equator, cause it to rise higher and 
higher until it overflows its banks. These floods, spreading out over 
the flood plain and level delta of the Nile, irrigate the land. 

"As in other rivers, the water carries with it an abundance of mud, 
which settles in a thin layer of rich soil upon the flood plain, making it 
so fertile that excellent crops of cotton, sugar-cane, and grain can be 
raised after the water is gone. By this means millions of people obtain 
food, although they live in a desert region. 

"On the desert of Sahara few people are able to live. Some parts 
are sandy plains, while others are rocky and hilly, and in places even 
mountainous. But here and there, as in Arabia, are oases where water 
comes from underground, so that grass and date palms are able to grow. 
Sometimes these oases are so large that villages are built upon them." 

SECOND SERIES 
Test A, Sixth Grade 

Here is a lesson from a book such as you use in class. Do whatever 
you think you ought to do in studying this lesson thoroughly, and then tell 
(write down) the different things you have done in studying it. Do not 
write anything else. 

6 



82 The Nature of Logical Study. 

"When the Puritans settled New England it was very expensive to 
bring from over the sea the articles that they needed. Nevertheless, at 
first they imported not only furniture and tools, but even wood for the 
interior of houses and bricks for the walls, fireplaces, and chimneys. 
Even now, in some of the older New England buildings, one sees doors 
and rafters that came from across the ocean many generations ago. 

"Very soon, however, the settlers began to make for themselves such 
articles as shoes, cloth, and lumber. Thus manufacturing began early in 
this region, and the industry was greatly aided by the water power, caused 
by the glacier. It was also aided by the many lakes. These serve as 
reservoirs from which, even during times of drought, a steady supply of 
water is secured for the falls and rapids. 

"Many mills and factories sprang up near the coast, and later in the 
interior, and thus New England soon became the principal manufacturing 
section of the whole country. Its many large cities owe their existence 
chiefly to this industry. Hundreds of articles are made, those composed 
of cotton, wool, leather, and metal being the most important. 

"It may seem strange that this should be the case, since none of these 
raw materials are extensively produced in New England. But the abun- 
dant waterfalls furnished such excellent power that it paid to bring the 
raw materials there to b« manufactured. Therefore, chiefly on account 
of its water power, manufacturing developed in New England." 

FIRST SERIES 
Test A, Seventh Grade 

Here is a lesson from a book such as you use in class. Do whatever 
you think you ought to do in studying this lesson thoroughly, and then 
tell (write down) the different things you have done in studying it. Do 
not write anything else. 

"Egypt. — In the movement westward of the people who dwelt along 
the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and further east in Asia, Egypt 
became one of the highways of the world, and against its people many 
destructive wars were waged. As other nations have advanced the 
Egyptians have steadily lost ground. The famous conqueror, Alexander 
the Great, overcame them and founded the city of Alexandria; later the 
Romans made conquest of the territory; and repeatedly since then the 
country has been invaded, for it has continued to be a highway of trade 
for three continents. At present Egypt is required to pay annual tribute 
to Turkey, but she is otherwise practically independent of Turkey; and 
the ruler, or Khedive, is a hereditary monarch. The government of Egypt 
was so bad that the French and British finally stepped in and took control 
of the finances of the nation. When the French declined to aid in sub- 
duing a rebellion in Egypt, the British alone assumed a large share in 
the control of Egyptian aflfairs. 

"As a result of British direction there has recently been marked 
progress in Egypt. Extensive irrigation works have been undertaken, 



The Nature of Logical Study. 83 

and the land area for cotton and sugar-cane has thereby been greatly 
increased. By means of reservoirs and canals it is further proposed to 
reclaim thousands of square miles of desert. A number of railway lines 
has also been built, including a part of the proposed line from Cairo to 
Cape Town. Outside of the Nile Valley, however, travel still depends 
largely upon the use of camels." 

SECOND SERIES 
Test A, Seventh Grade 

Here is a lesson from a book such as you use in class. Do whatever 
you think you ought to do in studying this lesson thoroughly, and then 
tell (write down) the different things you have done in studying it. Do- 
not write anything else. 

"Climate of Europe. — The direction in which the Highlands extend 
is a second cause of great difference between the climates of Europe 
and America. In America, where high mountains extend north and 
south along the entire western margin of the continent, the warm, damp 
westerlies are soon deprived of their moisture. This leaves a vast arid 
and semi-arid area in the interior. 

"In Europe, on the other hand, where the higher ranges extend nearly 
east and west, the mountains do not so seriously interfere with the move- 
ment of vapor to the interior. Consequently the west winds surrender 
their moisture only very gradually. This accounts for the fact that in 
the belt of westerlies, from western Ireland to eastern Russia, there is 
rainfall enough for agriculture. 

"The east-west direction of the lofty mountains has a marked in- 
fluence on the climate of those portions of Europe that lie on their north 
and south sides. Rising like great walls, the mountains prevent south 
winds from bearing northward the heat of the Mediterranean basin ; and 
they also interfere with the passage of the chilled winds from the north. 
We know that Florida, much further south than southern Europe, is 
visited by cold waves and accompanying frosts ; but mountain barriers 
prevent such winds in portions of southern Europe. 

"The numerous inland seas are another great factor in influencing 
the climate of parts of Europe. * * * It is this influence, added to that 
of the mountain barrier, that gives to southern Italy, Greece, France and 
Spain such an equable and almost tropical climate." 

FIRST SERIES 
Test C. Sixth Grade 

Do not answer this question, but write everj'thing you think 
you ought to do in finding the answer to it. 

Why is Pittsburg such an important commercial and manufacturing 
centre ? 



84 The Nature of Logical Study. 

SECOND SERIES 
Test C, Sixth Grade 

Do not answer this question, but write everything you think 
you ought to do in finding the answer to it. 

Tobacco used to be grown almost entirely in the Southern States, 
but now it is grown extensively in the Northern States as well. Why 
has this change come about? 

FIRST SERIES 
Test C, Se\'enth Grade 

T)o not answer this question but write everything you think j^ou 
■ought to do in finding the answer to it. 

Why do terrible famines occur in India every few years? 

SECOND SERIES 
Test C, Seventh Grade 

Do not answer this question, but write everything you think 
you ought to do in finding the answer to it. 

If you were a voter and a governor was to be elected in your state, 
how would you decide which of the candidates to vote for? 

FIRST SERIES 
Test E, Sixth Grade 

"A swift river rolls stones and sand along its bed and thus wears 
it deeper. After long ages the bed in which the river flows may be 
worn down almost to the level of the sea. Its current will be slow and 
its wearing power very slight. 

"Most large rivers flow slowly, because they have already worn their 
beds down to gentle slopes. The slow current favors the use of boats 
on rivers. 

"While a stream is deepening its bed, the rock waste all over its 
basin is weathering finer and finer. This waste is always creeping and 
washing into the valley bottom or into streams that carry it away. Thus 
the valley grows wider and its side slopes become more gradual. The 
uplands or hills on either side become smaller and lower, as they slowly 
waste away. 

"In a very long time, even a highland may be worn away to a low- 
land. Thousands of years are needed for this great work, but the earth 
is very old, and highland after highland has been worn down. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 85 

"Lands whose valleys are not yet widened may be called young, even 
though their streams have been working thousands of years. 

"Lands whose valleys are greatly widened, and whose hills or moun- 
tains are almost worn away, may be called old. 

In the middle-aged country, the uplands are deeply and widely cut 
by valleys. The rainwater runs quickly from the uplands and carries 
away much land waste. In the old land, most of the upland is worn 
down and only a few hills remain. In time, even the hills will waste 
away. Then the streams will become sluggish, but they may be useful 
as water ways. 

"We cannot watch a land grow to old age, for the change is very 
slow, lasting many hundred thousand years." 

SECOND SERIES 
Test E, Sixth Grade 

"Georgia is one of the leading cotton growing states, and exceeds all 
other states in the yield of peaches. The crops of sweet potatoes, rice, 
and sugar are also large. The pine forests yield much lumber, and more 
turpentine and rosin than any other region in the world. There are 
valuable quarries of marble and granite in the north, Georgia ranking as 
second state in the production of marble. The fine water power along 
the Fall line, and the coal and iron mines in the north, give Georgia a 
high manufacturing rank among the Southern states. The chief manu- 
factures are cotton, lumber, and naval stores. 

"Atlanta, the capital, was destroyed during the Civil War, but has 
grown rapidly since, and is one of the greatest commercial cities and 
railroad centres of the South. It owes its prosperity largely to its loca- 
tion near the southern end of the massive Blue Ridge, and thus where 
communication is easy with the North and with both the eastern and 
western groups of Southern railroads. It has cotton mills and many 
other manufactories. 

"Savannah was the first place settled in the state. It was taken by 
the British during the Revolution and was the scene of fighting during 
the Civil War. It is eighteen miles from the ocean, but has one of the 
deepest harbors on the Southern coast. The first steamship to cross the 
Atlantic sailed from this port. Savannah ships much cotton, rice, and 
lumber, and more naval stores than any other port in the world." 

FIRST AND SECOND SERIES 
Test E, Sixth Grade 

Write the answers to these questions, numbering them as the ques- 
tions are numbered. 

1. What is the subject of this lesson? 

2. Write a list of the principal topics in it. 



•86 The Nature of Logical Study. 

.3. What do you think is the most important thing in this lesson? 

4. What are your reasons for thinking this so important? 

5. What other facts do j'ou know alx)ut any of these topics? 

^. What questions would you ask in regard to anything in this lesson 
that is not clear to you or that you would like to know more about? 

FIRST SERIES 
Test E, Seventh Grade 

"India is about half as large as the United States, but its population 
is about four times as great. There are people of various types in all 
parts of the country, yet they are but little mixed. By far the greatest 
part of the population consists of Hindus, a dark-skinned branch of the 
Aryan people. 

"Within the past three centuries the English, French, and Portuguese 
established trading stations on the coast. The British finally gained con- 
trol over nearly all the native states, and now govern almost the entire 
country, although the number of British people in India is quite insigni- 
ficant in comparison with the dense native population. The King of 
Great Britain is called the Emperor of India. He appoints a British 
governor general, or viceroy, who lives in India and governs the country 
under the direction of the executive branch of the British government 
in London. 

"Most of the people live by agriculture, raising millet and rice for 
their own use, and various other products for export ***** 

"Manufacturing industries are being rapidly developed by the Euro- 
peans, and cotton, woolen, and jute goods, and paper are made. There 
are some iron mines in India, and many coal mines, but they are not close 
together, and there are consequently but few manufactures of iron * * * * 

"The British have caused good roads to be constructed in nearly ail 
parts of the country, and have built more than 20,000 miles of railroad. 
These are the chief means of transportation, for the detritus in the rivers 
of northern India, and cascades in the rivers of the Deccan interfere with 
the use of those streams as trade routes." 



SECOND SERIES 

Test E, Seventh Grade 

"We have seen that the people in the various parts of the earth do 
not all look alike, do not eat the same kinds of food, do not wear the 
same style of clothing, nor live in the same kinds of houses. 

"Near the Kongo river there are black savages living in straw huts, 
^th no books, no lamps, no rifles. 

"The Indians in the selvas spend their time in fishing and hunting. 
They wear but little clothing and use blowguns and bows and arrows. 

"On the islands southeast of Asia, brown people live in bamboo huts, 



The Nature of Logical Study. 87 

and raise rice, coffee, and spices. There the boys make baskets and the 
girls weave cloth. 

"We have read about the Chinese with their long braided hair and 
their slanting eyes. We have learned that they weave fine silk and 
pack boxes of tea. 

"We know that white people live in our own country and in many 
other countries. We have seen their books, railroads, ships, workshops, 
and homes, or pictures of them. 

"The people of the earth are divided into five groups, or races. The 
people of one race differ from those of the other races in color, in size, 
in the shapes of their skulls, in kinds of hair, in language, and in other 
respects. 

"In some places we shall find that people of two or more races live 
side by side, but certain lands are known as the home of each race. Thus, 
America is the home of the Indian, or red-brown race. Most of the 
brown people are found on islands southeast of Asia. The north and 
east slopes from the Asian highland are the home of the yellow race. 
The home of each race is bounded on nearly all sides by oceans, deserts, 
or lofty highlands. The desert of Sahara lies between lands of the black 
and the white races. The Himalaya mountains separate homes of yellow 
and of white people. The land of the Indian is bounded on all sides by 
the sea." 

FIRST AND SECOND SERIES 

Test E, Seventh Grade 

Write the answers to these questions, numbering them as the ques- 
tions are numbered. 

1. What is the subject of this lesson? 

2. Write a list of the principal topics in it. 

3. What do you think is the most important thing in this lesson? 

4. What are your reasons for thinking this so important? 

5. What other facts do you know about any of these topics? 

6. What questions would you ask in regard to anything in this lesson 
that is not clear to you or that you would like to know more about? 

DIRECTIONS FOR THE PRINCIPALS IN REGARD TO CON- 
DUCTING THE TESTS IN GEOGRAPHY 

I. In each test, each pupil should write at the top of the first page the 
following data : 

City State Date 

Name of school Grade 

Full name of pupil Age at last birthday 

and date of last birthday 

Minutes required to write the test 



88 The Nature of Logical Study. 

If more than one sheet is required, the pupil should write liis name 
on the extra sheets. He should use ink and write on one side of the 
sheet only. 

2. The tests should be given during the forenoon, and on successive 
days, test A being given on the first day, test B on the second, etc. 

3. The pupils should write these tests without help of any kind from 
any one. The results are valueless for the purpose intended unless 
the work is absolutely the pupils' own. 

4. Each child should have as much time as he needs for each test. 
Children do not work at the same rate of speed and unless each child 
has the time he needs, the test is not uniform. Begin to count time 
after the heading is written. Be sure each child indicates it. 

5. Results should be sent in from all children present in the class when 
the test is given. The printed slips should also be collected and 
returned. 

6. Fasten together each set of test papers written by a class, and label 
it as to grade and test, e.g., Seventh Grade, Test A. When all tests 
have been given, return the papers to me. 

7. If the class is not to be trained, the teacher should not know that 
there is to be a second series of tests, and if it can be avoided, no 
teacher should know the nature of the tests before they are given 
to the class. 

8. The pupils must make their own interpretations, do their own spell- 
ing, etc. This requirement being uniform will not be a hardship 
for any particular class, and failure to observe it will vitiate the 
results. 

9. All the printed slips should be returned to me, and no teacher train- 
ing her class in habits of study should use the contents of the slips 
for a lesson. She should work with other subject matter and not 
refer directly to the tests. The classes are to be trained in the 

habits of study and not coached for a second test. 

10. When test A is given, the class should be observed as it works, and 
notes taken as to what the different pupils do. If a pupil gets one 
or more books for reference, consults the dictionary, sits and thinks, 
etc., it should be noted, so that the teacher's notes can be compared 
with the child's account of what he has done. These notes should 
be sent with the test papers when they are completed. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 89 

11. Test A is the only one in which the pupils may be permitted to con- 
sult books, and they are to do that in test A only if they think of it 
themselves. 

12. When test D is given, the pupils are to have first the printed sheet 
containing the printed matter to be studied. When a child thinks he 
has completed the study, he is to return this sheet to the teacher and 
get the slip containing the questions he is to answer. The slip con- 
taining the subject matter must be returned before the questions are 
given to the pupil. 

13. In test E, the pupils are to have both slips, i.e., subject matter and 
questions, at the same time throughout the test. 

Please do not let the teacher talk to her class about the tests. I have 
tried to include in the directions on the printed slips all that the pupils 
need to know. For example, when the subject matter for test D is g^ven 
to the children, the latter ought not to be told that they are to answer 
questions about the lesson on the slips. The directions say to study the 
lesson until the pupil thinks he knows it, and that is all he is to know 
about it until he returns that slip and gets the one containing the questions. 
If teachers begin talking, there can be no uniformity of procedure in the 
different classes. Of course the pupils must be told how to write the 
heading. It is best to write a model of it on the blackboard. 



Questionnaire on Observations of Lessons 

For the sake of helping to solve some problems in reading, will you 
please make out for me reports of one or more lessons according to the 
outline below? The grades should be the fourth, fifth or sixth. The 
teacher should not know that you are going to make a report. Conditions 
should be as normal as possible. Report on what teacher does, not on 
what she knows how to do. 



City Building Grade 

Date Text-book Name of selection. 

Assignment of lesson 

What did the teacher say about 

Difficult words : 

Thought content of selection to be studied : 

Allusions or figures of speech : 

What were pupils to do in preparing the lesson? 



90 The Nature of Logical Study. 

In the recitation of this lesson, after it had been studied, what 
was done in regard to 

Difficult words : 

Thought Content : 

Allusions or figures pf speech : 

Please report more than one teacher if you have time? 

Teachers' Questionnaire 

1. Assuming that memorizing is one of the processes employed in study- 
ing, tell how you would memorize a poem or a chapter in the Bible. 

2. Many teachers when directing jpupils to study, tell them to think about 
the lesson. Enumerate the various things which you think ought to 
be done in "thinking about a lesson." 

3. Is there any thing else which you think ought to be done in studying 
a lesson? 

4. Do you do any of the things named under i, 2, and 3 more frequently 
than the others? If so, which are they? 

5. When you were a pupil in the Elementary School, were you taught to 
use any of these steps or processes systematically? If so, which ones? 

6. If you have taught in an Elementary School, have you ever trained 
your pupils there to use any of these steps or processes? If you 
have, which steps or processes were they? 



TABLE I 




» Classes 1-5 and 21-24 w 



TEST A 



The figures iu italics represent the [juimIb who told whtt they uuiiW do iu studying the lesson. 































XAB 

__ ,__ — J 


,E II 




























1 


No. 
of 
Pu- 

pib 


Age 




Wrote 
facts 


Wrote 
questions 


Would find 

out facts. 

(No source given) 


Would consult 
books, maps, etc. ■ 


"St 


iuld 


Would 
write 
facts 


Gave 
topics 


Not 
clear 


Inadequate 


Adequate 


Would 
aak 


CLASS* 




First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


Firs 
Seri< 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 
Series 


First 
Series 


Second 

Series 




1 


% 


1 1 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. 


P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N... P. 


N. P. 


N. 1 


JSN. P. 


N. P. 


N . P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N 


P. 


N. P. 




6th 
Gth 
6A 
6B 
6tli 

6B' 
6B2 
6B3 
6.V 
61ii 

m' 

GB' 
fiB! 
6BS 
6A' 
6.\2 
6A3 
6A 
6A 
6A 
6A 


15 
. 20 
35 
30 
9 


12. 

12.2 

11.7 

11.7 

11.6 


12.3 

12.4 
12.2 
11.9 
11.7 


4 7 

5 5 
4 10 
4 6 

24 14 


3 20. 

3 15. 
8 22.9 
7 23.3 
1 11.1 


1 6.7 


1 6.7 




4 26.7 

3 15. 

4 11.4 
6 20. 
8 88.8 


4 26.7 
1 5. 
1 2.9 
3 10. 


4 26.7 
14 70. 
24 68.6 

9 30. 


7 46.7 
19 95. 
33 94.3 
22 73.3 
9 100. 


1 6 

3 15 

4 11 
11 36 

1 11 


8 20. 

2 10. 

3 8.6 
_6 16.7 


2 13.3 




9 60. 
11 55. 
18 51.1 
13 43.3 

6 66.7 


8 53.3 
3 16. 

3 8.6 

9 30. 

4 44.4 


4 26.7 
6 55. 
11 31.4 
6 20. 
3 33.3 


4 26,7 
2 10, 
18 51,1 
4 13,3 

4 44,4 


6 40. 

5 55. 
10 28.6 
8 26.7 


6 40. 
14 70. 
2 6.7 
6 20. 


1 6,7 

8 40, 
7 20. 

9 30. 


4 26.7 

4 20. 
15 42.9 
18 60. 

5 55.5 
















2 5.7 

3 10. 








2 5.7 
1 3.3 






4 




1 3.3 


1 3.3 


5 16.7 






























Totals. . . 


109 

39 
34 
37 
34 
34 
30 
41 
37 
44 
43 
46 
38 
23 
30 
33 
37 


11.8 

12.6 
12.7 
12.5 


12.1 

12.9 
13.0 
12.4 


8 8 

7 10 

8 8 
U 10 


22 20.2 

20 51.3 

12 35.3 
6 16.2 

2 5.9 

6 17.6 

7 23.3 
16 39. 

7 18.9 
9 20.5 
18 41.9 

3 6.5 
16 42.1 
18 78.3 

13 43.3 
12 36.4 

4 10.8 


6 5.5 

11 28.2 
5 14.7 

5 13.5 

6 17.6 
U 32.4 

7 23.3 
3 7.3 

2 5.4 

3 6.8 
9 20.9 
6 13. 

4 10.5 

1 4.4 

2 6.7 

1 3. 

2 5.4 


1 0.9 

5 12.8 
1 2.9 
1 2.7 
3 8.8 
1 2.9 

6 20. 

3 7.3 
1 2.7 
1 2.3 
3 7.0 

i "2!6 


1 

2 
1 


0.9 

5.1 
2.9 


25 22.9 

9 23.1 

3 8.8 

1 2.7 
12 35.3 

4 11.8 

2 6.7 

3 7.3 

1 2.7 

4 9.1 

5 11.6 
3 6.5 

2 5.3 
1 4.4 

1 3.3 

2 6.1 
7 18.9 


9 8.3 

6 15.4 

4 11,8 
2 5.4 

5 14.7 

2 5.9 

3 10. 

1 2.4 
1 2.7 

1 2.3 

4 9.3 
4 13. 

' 'i' ' i'.k 

2 6.7 
1 3. 

6 16.2 


41 37.6 

10 26. 
20 58.8 
32 86.5 

24 70.6 
28 82.4 
23 76.7 

25 61. 
30 81.1 
32 72.7 

18 41.9 
37 80.5 

19 60. 
2 8.7 

10 33.3 
17 51.5 
27 73. 


90 82.6 

16 41. 

23 67.0 

30 81.1 
26 76.4 

31 91.2 
22 73.3 
39 95.1 

33 89.2 
39 88.6 

24 55.8 

34 73.9 
30 78.9 

21 91.4 

22 73.3 
26 78.8 

25 67.6 


20 18 

2 5 

5 14 
2 5 
2 5 

1 2 

2 6 
1 2 

6 16 

3 6 

'36 
1 2 
1 4 
6 20 
1 3 
1 2 


13 11.9 

1 2.5 

2 5.9 

3 8.1 
3 8.8 

'626!' 
3 7.3 

6 16.2 

3 6.8 
2 4.7 
5 10.9 

4 10.5 
1 4.4 

7 23.3 
.6 18.2 

7 18.9 


2 1.8 


3 2.8 


57 52.3 

16 41. 

17 60. 
30 81.1 
33 97.1 
27 79.4 

23 76.7 
4 9.8 

15 40.5 
32 72.7 

24 56.8 
40 87. 
10 26.3 

3 13. 

16 53.3 
13 39.4 
27 73. 


27 24.8 

25 64.1 
20 58.8 

25 67.6 

26 73.5 

30 88.2 

20 66.7 
14 34.1 

11 29.7 
32 72.7 

21 48,8 

31 67.4 

12 31.6 
2 8.7 
9 30. 

4 12.1 
21 66,8 


29 26.6 

9 23.1 
9 26.5 

11 29.7 
14 41.2 

6 17.6 
10 33.3 

7 17,1 
9 24,3 

12 27,3 
12 28, 

6 13. 

7 18.4 
1 4.4 

12 40. 

12 36.4 

13 35.1 


32 29.4 

5 12.8 

5 14.7 

6 16.2 
9 26.5 

11 32.4 

11 36.7 

5 12.2 
10 27. 

8 18.2 

7 16.3 
13 28.3 

9 23.7 
13 56.5 

6 20. 

12 36,4 

8 21,6 


29 26.6 

6 15.4 
8 23.5 
5 13.5 

8 23.5 

9 26.5 

8 26.7 
12 29,3 

9 24,3 
20 46,5 
11 25,6 
18 39,1 

2 5,3 

1 4.4 

2 6.7 
2 6.1 
4 10.8 


28 25.7 

20 51.3 

11 32.4 
10 27. 
13 38.2 

16 47,1 

12 40, 

13 31,7 

5 13,6 
23 52,3 

17 39,5 
19 41,3 
10 26.3 

1 4.4 

6 20. 
4 12.1 

13 36,1 


25 22.9 

4 10.3 

5 14.7 

14 37.8 
13 38,2 

15 44,1 
8 26,7 

10 24,4 

12 32,4 

6 13,6 

6 14, 
20 43,6 

13 34,2 
2 8,7 

7 23,3 
7 21,2 


46 42.2 

6 12.8 

13 38.2 
17 45.9 

11 32.4 
5 14.7 

5 16.7 
22 53.7 
21 56.8 

12 27.3 
9 20.9 

11 23.9 

14 36.8 

6 26.1 
16 53.3 

13 39.4 


1 0.9 


10 9.2 


7 




3 8.8 


2 


5.9 


1 2.9 
1 2.7 




6 
1 


17.6 
2.9 


1 2.9 

2 5.9 


1 2.9 
1 2.9 
1 3.3 




3 8.8 










1 2.9 








1 3.3 
1 2.4 






12.9 
12.6 
13.1 
12.0 
11.9 
14.0 
12.3 
12.1 
12.2 
11.5 


13.0 
12.9 
13.2 
12.2 
12.3 
14.3 
12.4 
12.5 
12.2 
12.3 


6 7 

4 5 

6 9 

5 3 
4 9 

7 14 
4 2 

12 11 

6 5 
11 15 




1 2.4 






2 6.4 
1 2.3 


1 2.7 
1 2.3 




14 


1 
3 


2.3 
7. 

'5!3 


2 


4.6 


'i"2'.3 










2 4.3 


17 


s'loT 


1 2.6 
4 17.4 
3 10. 


1 2.6 


2 5.3 


19 


2 6.7 
■2'5'.4 




1 
3 


3.3 
9.1 




20 


1 3. 




21 





i 2.7 


16 43,2: 13 36.1 




Totals. . . 
22 


7th 
7th 
7th 
7th 


580 

13 
12 
28 
29 


12.5 

12.5 
12.6 
11.7 
13.3 


12.7 

12.8 
12.8 
12.8 
13.5 


8 8 

15 14 
3 4 
8 5 
8 6 


169 29.1 


78 13.4 


30 5.2 
1 7.7 


16 

1 


2.8 
7.7 


60 10.3 

1 7.7 

2 16.7 
2 7.1 

10 34.5 


43 7.4 

8 61.6 
7 58.3 
10 35.7 
22 75.9 


354 61. 

11 84.6 
7 58.3 
25 89.3 
13 44.8 


441 76. 

1 7.7 
1 8.3 
12 42.9 


37 6 

2 IS 
1 8 
8 28 
4 13 


59 10.2 

2 15.4 

1 8.3 

2 7.1 
2 6.9 


9 1.6 


17 2.9 


330 56.9 

6 46.2 
5 41.7 
8 28.6 
18 62.1 


302 52,1 

10 76,9 
5 41,7 
13 46.4 
21 72.4 


150 25.9 

2 15.4 

3 25. 
5 17.9 

4 13.8 


138 23.8 

'5'4i!7 
17 60.7 
12 41.4 


126 21.6 

2 16.4 
6 41.7 
6 21.4 


193 33.3 

7 63.8 
4 33.3 

8 28.6 


158 27,2 

11 84.6 
1 8.3 
17 60.7 
11 37.9 


193 33.3 

4 15.4 
3 26. 
2 7.1 
6 20,7 


11 

i' 

5 

1 


1.9 

'sis 

17.9 
3.8 


10 2.8 
3 23.1 


23 


3 25. 










24 








1 3.6 




3 10.3 


25 


2 6.9 




1 3.5 






Totals.. . 
26 


7th 
7th 
7th 
7th 


82 

32 
17 
30 
30 


12.5 

12.9 
13.4 
12.3 
12.4 


13. 

13.2 
13.6 
12.4 
12.6 


34 29 

5 17 
13 19 


5 6.1 

1 3.1 

2 11.8 

3 10 

4 13.3 




2 2.4 


1 1.2 


15 18.3 


47 57.3 

21 65.6 
6 35.3 
9 30. 

11 36.7 


56 68.3 

29 90.6 
11 64.7 
19 63.3 
29 96.7 


14 17.1 

4 12.5 
6 35.5 
4 13.3 
4 13.3 


15 18 

4 12 
2 11 
8 26 


7 8.5 

1 3.1 
3 17.6 

2 6.7 
2 6.7 


1 1.2 





37 45.1 

15 46.9 
9 62.9 

16 53.3 
20 66.7 


49 59.8 

28 87.5 
7 41.2 

10 33.3 

11 36.7 


14 17.1 

7 21,9 
6 36,3 
5 18,7 
1 3,3 


34 41.5 

10 31.3 
4 23.5 
6 20. 
9 30. 


24 29.3 

9 28,1 
4 23,5 
14 46.7 
4 13.3 


29 35.4 

12 37.5 

5 29.4 
10 33.3 

6 16.7 


40 48.8 

15 46.9 
6 35.3 
8 26.7 

24 80. 


15 18.3 

10 31,3 
8 47.1 
14 46.7 

16 53.3 


7 


8.5 
3.1 


21 25.6 

6 15.6 
2 11.8 
11 36.7 
n 36.7 


27 

28 








5 29.4 
1 3.3 








10. 
3.3 


29 


1 3.3 


1 3.3 


1 3.3 










109 
880 


12.7 


13. 


8 8 


10 9.2 
206 23.4 


1 0.9 
85 9.7 


1 0.9 
34 3.9 


1 
19 


0.9 

2.2 


6 5.5 
106 12. 


47 43.1 
146 16.6 


88 80.7 18 16.5 
539 61.3 473 53.8 


14 12 
86 9 


8 7.3 
87 9.9 






60 55. 
484 55. 


56 51.4 
434 49.3 


19 17,4 
212 24,1 


29 26.6 
233 26.5 


31 28.4 
209 23.8 


32 29.4 
282 32. 


63 48.6 
276 31.4 


48 44. 
302 34.3 


24 


2.7 




Totals 


12 1.4 


20 2.3 


76 8,6 






•Cla« 


iseal- 


San 


i 22-25 1 


TOre traine 


d: the ot 


hers wer 


a not tra 


ned. 








rEi 


r c 





























TABLE III 




The Nature of Logical Study. 



91 



< 





-oajip i»o||oj jou piQ 




■0 

CI 


COCO 

co-o 

CI — 


CO 

CO 


■■0 

CO 




SIOBJ tI.*0U5( 
q ) ! M pd)BpU8!IV 


0^ 

2: 


1 2.9 
3 11.5 
3 12.5 

2 12.5 








SUOj) 

-V|3J mSnoqi paoBJj^ 


o4 


3 8.S 
G 23.1 

3 12.5 

4 25. 
2 5 7 




CO 

c» 


t~ 

CI 

CI 

Ol 


00 




BuoijBrnis pDJ^aij 




2 5.9 
6 23.1 
1 4.2 

3 18.8 

4 11.4 




Suizijotuaoi 
ajojjq paipnis 




12 35.3 
10 38.5 
9 37.5 
5 31.3 
7 20. 
9 30. 


CO 
CI 




SaizjjoaiJtn ui 
\ioww»iai pu» 
aujpBij iua[!8 pasq 




CO — CO 

CO CO CO 
CI 

CO -.SCI 


CO . 

•r '■ 
• 


o> 
to 




SajZjjoinaui 
ai piB a« 8« 3ai 
-1UA\ JO qaaads pasq 


cC 
z 


15 44.1 
14 53.8 
3 12.5 

3 18.8 

4 11.4 
2 6.7 


00 

CI 

5 




aAiiBjnninD' pas.i 


a: 


11 32.4 
7 26.9 
9 37.5 
4 25. 
7 20. 
7 23.3 






auiziJoniarauigpiB 
(BaiuBqostn pasj[ 




lOOCO 
OJ«C» 




CO 
CO 

c< 




a^mgapai 
siiun jo pni^ 




8 23.5 
6 23.1 

4 16.7 

5 31.3 
1 2.9 
4 13.3 






}o puiJi q»oq pasq 


z 


O>00 

cjeo 


cot-- ■ 


to 
■0 




IBjmBqoaoi ojai 
uonaa|as papfAiQ 


z 


16 47.1 
7 26.9 

11 45.8 
4 25. 
9 25.7 

16 53.3 


s 




Sfran )q3noqt o)ai 

001)33(38 pspiAIQ 


zi 


7 20.6 
12 46.2 
7 29.2 

3 18.8 
6 17.1 

4 13.3 




CO 

c» 




non3a]a§ sJiiua "^ 
psipms JO psay 

*5 


25 73.5 
24 92.3 
18 75. 
14 87.5 
28 SO. 
20 66.7 







BSBJ3 ni jaqmnf^ 


T -.0 ^ lO 1 O 

CO CI CI — CO CO -0 










CO 




10 -.0 


• 

a 
t 

1 

a 
a 

.a 

1 





92 



The Nature of Logical Study. 



PQ 
< 



sSp^iMOU}) i(|dcly 




6 17.6 
4 15.4 
3 12.5 

2 12.5 

3 8.6 
2 6.7 


8 


U0lSS3JdX9 

na^^UM JO isjo aAiQ 


2: 


3 8.8 

4 15.4 
1 4.2 

3 "s'e 

3 10. 


00 


azuomaiv 


cC 
Z 


3 8.8 
1 3.8 
1 4.2 
1 6.3 
1 2.9 
3 10. 


o 


3ZU " 

-'Binmns ao MajAay 




05-* CO • ■ 
U510 -to • ■ 




sssBjqd 
pne spjOM Apn)g 




4 11.8 

3 11.5 
3 12.5 
1 6.3 

5 14.3 
3 10. 


"5 


txs) aq) )aainaiddng 






16 61.5 

2 8.3 

3 18.8 
3 8.6 
1 3.3 


;2 


s^uaui 
-a^^'jgjoesanpunos 
aip 0^ SB aSpnf 






t~-«-- • CO 

i-^to ■ -co 


C<l 


s}nara 
-Spnt nioj} '.uossaa 


CM 

z" 


9 26.5 

3 11.5 

1 4.2 

2 12.5 

4 11.4 
2 6.7 


t^ 

M 


attxtwai :8Z!|Vns!A. 


PM 

z 


3 8.8 
7 26.9 
1 4.2 
1 6.3 

4 11.4 
3 10. 


05 


aauai 


11^ 
z 


7 20.6 
3 11.5 
7 29.2 
3 18.8 
3 8.6 
2 6.7 


CM 


SAiaajaddrs :ii«aaH 


p4 
z 


17 51.5 
3 11.5 
9 37.5 
6 37.5 

14 40. 
1 3.3 


CO 

s 


nosEai JO 
Sum^am pnB^sjapu.i 


z 


13 39.4 
6 23.1 
8 33.3 

^20" 
19 63.3 


s 


saoi^sanb 3(sv 


0^ 

z 




2 7.7 

2 8.3 

3 18.8 

4 11.4 


to 


iqgnoqi 
JO aaoanbas aowx 


p.; 
z" 






CO 
CO 

CO 


s«ap! pa^cpj dnojr) 


PM 

z 


6 17.6 
17 65.4 
10 41.7 
3 18.8 
5 14.3 
3 10. 


CO 

3 


sjuiod 
^nB^jodrai aqi 'pnij[ 


z 


"5 

c<; 

00 


C^ t^OCOiCO 


CO 

CO 
CO 


12 46 
10 41 

3 18 
15 42 

7 23 


tuaiqoJd 
JO iqSnoqi 
uiOTQ aq? pui^ 


PM 

z 


OlO -c^oo ■ 




azX]Bny 


pi: 

z 




ci . . . CO 

oj • • ^co 


CO 
CO 

CO 


aioqji B SB 
nogsaj JO ■Bap! laj) 


PU 

z 


4 11.8 

5 19.2 
4 16.7 
2 12.5 

7 20. 

8 26.7 


00 

§5 


noi^ 
-na'jiB a^BJ^naDuog 


Pk 

z' 


o 
in 

05 


rococo 


s 

5 




SBBjo ni jaqranfj 




-fee ■«*« CO kC o 

coojcq— .coco 


i 










•«s 










■li 














CI CO -^ »rt o 


H o. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 



93 



s 

< 



-puiipni aqi aAaasaij 






cccom ■ ■ 

COtJ" <o ■ • 


00 
CO 


spjOM Xpmg 


P-i 




O0(M ;OS . 

CO-* -c^iS 

-H— 1 -rt CO 


to 

CO 

to 


uosBaa 




0» -(MCO • ■ 


00 
CO 


ai^jajJOQ 


z" 




00 CO CO t~ CO 


(M 


COCOOIOCO 


SAiaajaddy 


p^ 




■ 00 • cq CO 


•* 


noo 


2; 


1 2.9 

2" "8.3 

2" "5.7 
4 13.3 


«5 


^BaJa^i! asnoiy 




01 -C^l -OS 

(M : rt '. rt CO 




s^iq^q nijoj o% uuQ 






• N o • 


a 
N 


a2p8lAion5[ Aiddy 


p^ 
z 


7 20.6 
4 15.4 

8 33.3 
2 12.5 
4 11.4 


>2 


azuotnai^ 


p^ 
z 


oc 

c 


lOC^CO-* 




00 


CO •-< — > ■* to 


noissajdxa 


z 




CO lOrt 


CO 


0-. M 50 CO 


azMvnnnns iMaiAa^ 


p^ 
z 


1 2.9 

2 7.7 
1 4.2 

i""2".9 

3 10. 


00 

'*' 

1 00 


snonBj:>snii! pu^j 


p^ 
z 




•* 




•* 


azil^nsiA 


z 




• •* 

••* 


CO • ■ 
■ • 


CO 



SniuBara pmj^aiapnii 


z' 





sooco -coco 


? 


5CO00 •■fCO 


aisdnioQ 


z 


Oi ■ 


CO • ■ 

to' • • 


00 
CO 


ssnasid 


Pi 
z 


05t^ 
(MM 


CO • • 

to ■ ■ 


CO 



a^B3 
-nsaAUi 'aAjasqo 
Is^namijadza a^^lf 


Ph 

z 


5O00 


■OS CO 


to 




■jxa^ aq'i }naraa[ddng 


z 


5 14.7 
4 15.4 
2 8.3 
2 12.5 
2 5.7 
2 6.7 


CO 




sBapi pa^Bjaj dnojQ 


p^ 
z 





otnm •'•"CO 


06 
■* 


— <M - — CO 
OCOCO •■*r-i 


s^aiod 
(juB^odTni am pnij 


z 


9 215.5 
5 19.2 
3 12.5 
2 12.5 
7 20. 
5 16.7 


00 

06 

CO 


snoi^sanb iaMsoB puB 
uuoj Isuiaiqojd aAjog 


Ph 

z' 


0000 

06 CO 
CO — 


■ '.U5 


to 
eo 
to 


aio^M V SB 
nOBsai JO Bapi jaQ 


z 


• -cqeoos 
■ •* to N 


00 
CO 


ssBp ai jaqain{(; 


1 1 CONIMiCOW 


s 






•8.2 


^ 
















1 ^ 




-(M? 


0-<»>lOtC 


1 H a 



94 



The Nature of Logical Study. 



< 



(JJMCQ'B J3q)0 



UOI) 



jsajaini 'asnoiy 



azuoma]^ 



00 CO *M - C^ CC 



icc^oococoec 

•^ Oi O -^ ■* CO 

o» »o »« ^ '^^ -^ 



aAiaojaddy 



aAiaajaj 



nossa] aq^ pnB!)siap 
-un InosBaj I^iaiqx 



aSpaiMon^i Ajddy 



aoissajdxa 
us'i'jijjtt JO \eio aAif) 



azu^nnnns tMaua^j 



ajBdraoQ 



Csl i-^00»«O 



<>» CO k'^ oo »o CO 



OC t^ C^ li^ t^ CO 

00 1-^ ■*' C^ lO CO 

CO C^J ^^ -M c^ ^ 



05 OOCOCO'^CO 

lii CO oc — " CO 

C^ rt C-l — ■* — 



OIQO 
U3CO 



00 00 coco 
^ eoooo 



auiSBiDi lazijBnsjA 



saanajajai sei 



snoipau 
-uoD jBOiSo] aq^ !ta{) 



saoi((sanb a^Binnuoj 



seap! pajTqaj dnojg 



s)n]od 
^nwijodni! aq; pnij 



mie aqt 
auinua^ap !tnai 
-qojd aq^ aziuSoaay 



ssBja u\ jaquinfj 



oooi^-oocor^ 

^^ :o «5 oo-* to 

— .(M^^COrt 
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The Nature of Logical Study. 



95 



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15 44.1 

15 57.7 
11 45.8 

9 56.3 

16 45.7 
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96 



The Nature of Logical Study. 
TABLE IX 



CLASS 


J 

a 

1 


"5 
O 


1 

'S 

52 
□, 


■a 

Q. 

a 
•c 

•<3 so 

a 

¥ 


1 
1 

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1 


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1 

3 

o 


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a 
1 
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3 
CO 


a 

o 


o 

a 
"S 

n 


.1 


S 

g 

(2 


a 
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II 




1 




N. P. 


N.P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N.P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N.P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


N. P. 


1 

2 


34 

26 
24 
16 
35 
30 


4 11.8 
1 3.8 

1 4.2 

2 12.5 

'6'26.' 


i'8.6 


5 14.7 

3 11.5 

4 16.7 

2 12.5 

3 8.6 

5 16.7 


8 23.5 
5 19.2 
8 33.3 
4 25. 

2 5.7 

3 10. 


i'e.'s 

3 8.6 
1 3.3 


3 8.8 
1 3.8 

1 4.2 

2 12.5 
1 2.9 
1 3.3 


7 20.6 

1 3.8 
3 12.5 

2 12.5 
1 2.9 
1 3.3 


2 6.9 
2'8;3 


2 5.9 
4 15.4 


4 11.8 


3 8.8 


1 2.9 


2 6.9 


2 5.9 


3 








2 8.3 


2 8.3 


4 










1 6.3 


5 




i 2.9 
4 13.3 









1 2.9 
1 3.3 




6 




















Totals.. 


165 


14 8.5 


3 1.8 


22 13.3 


30 18.2 


6 3.6 


9 5.5 


15 9.1 


4 2.4 


11 6.7 


4 2.4 


3 1.8 


1 .6 


6 3.6 


5 3. 



The Nature of Logical Study. 
TABLE IX.— Continued 



97 



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N. P. 


N. P. 


11 32.4 


2 5.9 
2 7.7 


3 8.8 
3 11.5 


2 5.9 


11 32.4 
3 11.5 

15 02.5 
5 31.3 
10 28.0 

12 40. 


2 5.9 
1 3.8 


2 5.9 


7 20.6 

2 7.7 

3 12.5 
1 6.3 

3 S.O 

4 13.3 


5 14.7 






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3 11.5 

2 8.3 

3 18.8 

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1 3.3 


2 5 9 


6 23.1 






8 30 8 


7 29.2 








4 16 7 


8 50. 


1 0.3 
4 11.4 
1 3.3 


4 25 
2 5.7 


1 0.3 













16 3 


9 25.7 
9 30. 


3 8.0 
3 10. 


2 5.7 
1 3.3 


1 2.9 


4 ii.4 

1 3.3 


3 8.6 


2 5^7 
9 30 










50 30.3 


10 0.1 


12 7.3 


3 1.8 


56 33.9 


9 5.5 


5 3. 


20 12.1 


6 3.6 


5 3. 


3 1.8 


15 9.1 


11 6.7 


26 15.8 



VITA 

The writer was born in Worthington, Pa., Oct. 26, 1864. 
She attended the school in her native town until nearly ready for 
high school and then went to school for two years in Pittsburgh, 
Pa., the second year being spent in the Pittsburgh High School. 
In 1885, she entered the State Normal School in St. Cloud, 
Minn., and in 1887 graduated from the advanced course offered 
by that institution. From 1887 until February, 1895, she 
taught in the public schools of Duluth, Minn., as teacher in the 
grades, as principal of a grammar school, and as assistant 
principal of the Duluth Training School. In February, 1895, 
she entered the State Normal School in Oswego, N. Y., and 
in the following July received the certificate from the Special 
Training Course for Critic Teachers, and in addition the regular 
diploma of the school. The year 1895-96 was spent in the 
State Normal School in Mankato, Minn., as principal of the 
primary department in the Training School. During the 
years 1896-98, the writer studied in the Universities of Gottingen 
and Jena in Germany. She then returned to the Normal 
School in Mankato, Minn., to teach ps^^chology and pedagogy. 
In 1899, leave of absence was granted, and the next two years 
were spent in the University of Michigan. From this institution 
the degree of A. B. was received in 1901. During the summer 
of 1 90 1, the writer taught in the State Normal School in Cedar 
Falls, Iowa. From 1901 to June 1905, she was teacher of 
methods and principal of the Training Department in the State 
Normal School in Whitewater, Wis. In 1905, Teachers College, 
Columbia University, appointed her a fellow in Education, and 
in 1906, bestowed upon her the degree of A. M. (in Education). 
Since 1905, she has been connected with Teachers College 
either as a student or as an officer of instruction. During the 
second semester of the year 1905-06, she assisted in the Depart- 
ment of Educational Psychology; and during the first semester 
of the year 1906-07, she was a tutor in the Department of 
Elementar}'^ Education. She was an instructor in Education 
in the Summer Session in 1907. Since July, 1907, she has 
been an instructor in Elementarv Education. 



H 64-84 



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ECKMAN 

NDERY INC. 



^ JAN 84 

WW' N. MANCHESTER, 
S^^ INDIANA 46962 







